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FROM THE BEQUEST OF
JOHN HARVEY TREAT
OF LAWRENCE, MASS.
CLASS OF 1862
lff««^««^«a^«A>«a^«A>«A*«A*«A*«0»<A»«A*«A*««^«0»<^^ly
Leytonstone and its History
Battbn ft Datibs,
dapham, S.W.
Rev. W. J. Bettison. m.a.
Vicar of St. Joha Baptist,
Leytottstone, from 1874 to
tlie present time. - - -
The Author.
Seven years Vicar's Warden of
St, Jolia Baptist, Leytoastoae.
£epton$totic ana Its Rlstorp
WitftdMclaircrmiice.
to tDc (tlaDlitDnciit ami
deoeiopnciit or CbircD *
Serokei flwrela. . . .
JIM a tDort aecomt or
rormcr lUtidents ami .
lUsideiictt, etc . * * .
By • • • •
W. Q. HAMMOCK
XOtldOll:
Battkn 8c Davirs
The Patemcnt, Clapham 1904* iAU rigtu ivMirMf.]
"t^ ^; -^ o/. »/y
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY -
TREAT FUND '
Dedicated
be Kind petmiMion to tbe
RidDt Reo. CDe cord BisDot) or $t iiibans.
Spufau*
A N old box in the Vestry of St. John Baptist, Leytonstone, sup-
^^ posed to contain nothing but a large quantity of practically
obsolete papers, often caused me, before and during my seven years
of office as Churchwarden, to wonder whether anything of interest
could be found among its contents. I at last got it opened, and a
mass of old letters and documents therein, disclosed in great detail
the early efforts made to establish Church of England services in the
district, and the progress of the undertaking from its beginning
(nearly i6o years ago) to the time of building the present Church of
St. John's. There were also two books of quaint and interesting
extracts from Parish Registers, dating back as far as 1584.
The papers were, however, by far too diffuse and voluminous
to be of much practical general use in their existing state, and I
therefore at once resolved to summarise their contents, for the in-
formation of my successors in office. As I proceeded, the idea
forced itself upon me that such a summary would be of great interest,
not only to the Church officers, but to Leytonstonians in general —
past, present and future — and that they should have an opportunity
of learning something about such records. I therefore resolved to
add to the summary such particulars as would bring the history down
to present date, and to publish the whole with a short introductory
chapter of early history of the district, and such particulars as I was
able to gather by a fair amount of enquiry, without entering upon
very deep and troublesome research, as to old important residents and
residences. •
With regard to the last-named item, I have unexpectedly ex-
perienced much difficulty in obtaining nearly so much reliable and
full information as I hoped to have found easily accessible (and Mr.
Moon, at the Leyton Public Library, finds similar difficulty as to
Leyton) ; one or two trifling errors may, therefore, have crept in,
especially as some of the information is gathered from old inhabi-
tants ; and memories, through age, are sometimes apt to be a little
treacherous (as I, unfortunately, personally find). I have, however,
done my best to secure correctness, and I think there can be very
little which is not trustworthy.
With regard to the short introductory history, it is simply de-
signed to give in small compass a little desirable information, with no
pretence to any great historical value; it is composed of extracts
vi. PREFACE.
from a great variety of sources, both ancient and modern, so numer-
ous that I cannot particularise them ; but I have gratefully to express
my acknowledgments of the value of the information obtained from
the numerous excellent Histories^ &c., relating to Leyton and its
neighbourhood, including the works of Morant, Fisher, Defoe, Og-
born, Cox, Suckling, Moore, Haweis, Kennedy, Wilkinson, Rush,
Lyson, and Hunter, Dictionary of National Biography y Book of Dig-
nitiesy White's Essex Directory^ 1848^ East Wind Newspaper, Essex
in the Days of Old, &c.
I may also be permitted to offer to our Vicar, Rev. W. J.
Bettison, and the clergy of all the Leytonstone Churches, Rev. Geo.
Bell Doughty (Rector of St. Peter's, on Comhill), D. J. Morgan,
Esq., M.P., the officials of the Leyton District Council, Mr. Z. Moon
(custodian of the Leyton Public Library), Mrs. Emerson, Messrs.
Whittingham, Rollings, De Gruchy, Miller, Cousens, Wire, &c., and
especially in the matter of the illustrations, Messrs. Webber, Tester,
Walker, Clayton, Geo. Wilson, Markby, &c., my most sincere ac-
knowledgments and thanks for their very kind loans of pictures, and
valuable help.
As will be seen, my main object throughout has been to form
a permanent and concise record of the progress of the Church of
England's work in Leytonstone, based upon the old documents found
in the Vestry, with such short additions as would serve to illustrate
the general history of the district, adding only my own observations
as far as they are necessary to piece the different items together and
form a continous whole. My work is very imperfect, and would no
doubt have been much better in the hands of a younger man ; but I
have tried, so far as the infirmities of age allow (I having lived in four
reigns and being in my 80th year) to carry it out faithfully ; and I
have hopes that it will in a way serve its purpose, and be, in some
small degree, of use to the community, by embodying a concise
History of Leytonstone as a separate entity, which, to a consider-
able extent, seemed ignored by other writers.
I therefore now submit my little work to the public, trusting
that it will have a kindly reception, and leniency as to its short-
comings.
W. G. HAMMOCK.
Royal Lodge, Leytonstone,
Aprils 1904.
Contents.
Chaptbr L
Introductory and explanatory of the leading purpose of the book —
Early History before and after the Norman Conquest — Short
account of the three Leyton Manors, and of their changes of
ownership up to present date, with a few extracts and anecdotes
illustratiye of early times ... ... ... page i
Chapter II.
Old Residences and Residents — Noteworthy local Names — and
various general gleaniogs of matters of interest relating to the
District ... ... ... ... ... page lo
Chapter III.
Summary of information as to the district in general before the
establishment of Church organisation, as contained in the old
documents in St. John's Vestry — Extracts from Parish Registers
— Leytonstone as a little village gradually developing — Striking
and interesting comparisons, quaint and curious quotations
illustrative of its progress ... ... ... page 36
Chapter IV.
Establishment of Church Services in Leytonstone — Bxtraets from
original documents and letters giving detailed information as
to the persistent steps taken to establish Service&^The great
opposition and difficulties encountered — The ultimate success
of the undertaking, and the building of the little Chapel and its
subsequent enlargement ... . ., ... page 5 1
Chapter V.
Commencement and completion of the present Church of St. John
Baptist — Subscriptions, Tenders for Building, modifications.
Building and Consecration of the Church — Assignment of an
Ecclesiastical District Parish — and various minor iteip$ of in-
formation ... ... ... ... ... page 62
VIU.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Chapter VI.
Alterations and Enlargement of St. John's— Details to present date-
Particulars of Gifts, Fittings, Bells, Clock, Organ, &c.— Lists of
officiating Clergy and Churchwardens — Alterations of Frontages
— Coronation Memorial Tree planting — New Vestry— Elliott
Room — Charities and Bequests ... ... page 70
Chapter VII.
Leytonstone daughter Churches — Nonconformist Places of Worship
Mission Halls, &c., and some of the various Societies— Board
Schools, &c. ... ... ... ... pagt^o
SL\%\ oT liiustratioiis.
Rev. W. J. Bettison, Vicar of St. John Baptist, Leyton- \
stone ... ... ... ... ... I
The Author, seven years Churchwarden of St. John's )
Facsimile of ancient Parchment Deed of Conveyance,
dated 1426
Monument of Sir Michael and Lady Hickes in Leyton
Church ...
Old Royal Lodge before its destruction by Fire
Old Inns—" Green Man " and " Red Lion "
Strype's Memorial Tablet in Leyton Church
Portrait of John Strype, the famous Historian (Vicar
of Leyton)
The first Church in Leytonstone, afterwards National \
Schools, now Assembly Rooms ... ... 1
St. John's, when first built, reproduced from an old (
engraving ... ... ... .../
St. John Baptist, Leytonstone — Exterior, after addition
of new Chancel
Do. do. Interior ...
Holy Trinity, St. Andrew's, St. Margaret's, and St.
Augustine's Churches
Pagb.
Frontispiece,
9
16
33
35
48
64
80
88
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CHAPTER I.
Introductory, and Early History.
Introductory and explanatory of the leading purpose of the book —
Early History before and after the Norman Conquest — Short
account of the three Leyton Manors, and of their changes of
ownership up to present date, with a few extracts and anecdotes
illustrative of early times.
)EYTONSTONE— though it always has
been, even, in the earliest times, a most im-
portant district of Leyton — has singularly
little place in the various valuable histories
of Leyton, and undoubtedly claims much fuller his-
torical notice than has yet been accorded it. Kings,
Queens, and very many historical personages had
part in its earlier history ; and, though in its later
times it cannot lay claim to much of that kind of
distinction, it still has a new importance of its own,
as forming a by no means inconsiderable section of
the modern marvellously developed new and greater
London. Royalty even now has not entirely deserted
it, as witness the visits of the Duke of Connaught
and other members of the Royal Family, and even
King Edward VIL has recently traversed it in his
motor car. How astonished would have been his
Royal predecessors, with their primitive modes of tra-
2 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
veiling, their rude implements of chase, their hawks
and hounds, if even in their dreams such 20th cen-
tury developments could have passed before them, or
that the pretty little village should so rapidly have
become a large populous town.
It is felt that an effort, however imperfect, should
be made to supply in some degree the before-named
historical deficiencies, and thereby supplement per-
vious histories ; and, fortunately, the means of doing
so, especially as regards the work of establishing
Church organisation in Leytonstone were recently
found.
A search among a large number of old docu-
ments, extracts from registers, letters, &c., in the
hands of the vicar and churchwardens of St. John
Baptist, Leytonstone, has brought to light much
varied and very interesting information as to the
earlier general history of Leyton and Leytonstone,
especially illustrative of the life and doings of the
inhabitants during the 17th and i8th centuries and
earlier. The old papers ako give very full informa-
tion as to the persistent steps taken, commencing in
the early part of the i8th century, for the holding
Church of England services in Leytonstone, and of
the many difficulties which were encountered in car-
rying out the project
It was at once apparent that the information
gained from the latter papers would be of special
interest to the worshippers at St. John's, and that a
summary statement of the events to which they, as
well as the earlier papers, relate, is unquestionably
desirable as a local record, and at the same time
would doubtless be extremely interesting to old and
new inhabitants of the district as well as to many
others. It is, therefore, purposed to compile in the
INTRODUCTORY. 3
following pages such a summary, without entering
minutely into the details of the voluminous papers,
prefacing it with a short general historical introduction
gleaned from very various sources, public libraries, &c.
with only the few additions here and there necessary
to form a connected local narrative ; always having,
at the same time, special reference to the Church,
adding such information as can be obtained as to
former important residents and their residences, and,
finally, bringing the short history to a conclusion by
a few particulars up to present date.
Early History.
MR. Wilkinson, in his History of Leyton^ is no
doubt correct in considering that Leytonstone
takes its name from a Roman stone being placed as a
military mark, supposed to be that of the loth legion,
and was probably situated on the spot now so well
known by its distinctive land mark, the *' High
Stone." Possibly it is the very same stone, as it has
the appearance of extreme age. In the earlier docu-
ments, hereinafter named, Leytonstone almost always
consists of two words — Leyton Stone. There was a
Roman encampment near the site of old Ruckholt
House, and Pennant says, *' they constructed a vici-
nal way over the Lea to Duroleiton, the more modern
Leiton."
Mr. Gansel (who is frequently hereinafter referred
to) in digging up two acres of land for a garden near
the Manor House, found under the whole, very large
and strong foundations, in one place all stone, with
considerable arches and an arched doorway ten feet
high by six feet wide, ornamented with mouldings,
and having steps down to it, but filled up with gravel.
4 HIS^TOR Y OF LE YTONSTONE,
In many of the foundations were large quantities of
Roman bricks and tiles, and some broken pieces of
Egyptian granite. The remains probably belonged
to some Roman villas.
In digging a pond at Ley ton the workmen, after
sinking ten feet through a bed of clay, found a great
quantity of oak timber morticed together like a floor,
grown very hard and black, but they did not ascer-
tain how far it extended. Several Roman brass and
silver coins, both consular and imperial, from the
time of Julius Caesar, were scattered about, as well
as some silver coins with Saxon characters. The
ground where these discoveries were made adjoins
Leyton churchyard, where some time before, a large
urn of coarse red earth was found. Roman pave-
ment was also discovered in 1735, 20 feet long and
16 feet wide ; a stone coffin containing several pieces
of armour was likewise found at Temple Mills.
The Saxons probably gave the name of Latun
or Leatun to this neighbourhood, and much of the
early history of England, under Britons, Romans,
Danes, Saxons, &c., is closely connected with it. In
the Gentleman's Magazine^ it is stated that *' King
Alfred's great work in these parts (a.d. 8g6) was the
raising of the banks of the three streams which the
Great Eastern Railway now crosses between Mile
End and Stratford, and that the embankments, now
in good order after nearly ten centuries, were King
Alfred's work, raised by him for the sake of carrying
off the waters from the valley of the Lea. He
finished the embankment of the River Thames at
Blackwall, and thereby laid the Danish fleet, which
had sailed up to Ware, in Hertfordshire, high and
dry."
King Harold at one time dwelt in Leyton, also
EARLY HISTORY. ^
his brother, Tostig. There were two priests stationed
at Leyton in the reign of Edward the Confessor ; it
is not known when a Church was first erected there,
but in 1 182, the Church was confirmed to the Abbot
and Convent of Stratford, and was dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. It must, however, have been
a much eariier structure than the present one, no
part of which is really of ancient date, except perhaps
the tower, although there are records of various
works of enlargement and repairs in 1610 — 1658/9 —
1693, &c., in fadl it was almost rebuilt in 1821. A
Vicar of Leyton is named for the first time in 1327.
James I. resided in Leytonstone in June, 1604. Sir
Michael Hicks, Secretary to Burleigh, Queen Eliza-
beth's famous minister, lived in the Manor House of
Ruckholt (its site was near Leyton Station), and was
intimately acquainted with Sir Walter Raleigh, Cecil,
Bacon, Camden, &c. The monument of Sir Michael
and Lady Hicks is in Leyton Church, and has re-
cently been repaired and restored by Sir Michael
Hicks Beach, a descendant of the family, and the
present holder of the Baronetcy.
Sir Willam Hicks, Bart., underwent much
trouble and danger on account of his loyalty to
Charles L ; and his son. Sir William Hicks, men-
tioned in Pepys' Diary also lived there, and was
knighted by Charles H., when that Monarch came to
hunt in the forest, of which Sir William was Ranger.
The Hicks family in many ways greatly helped the
famous Vicar of Leyton, Strype, the historian (after-
wards referred to) ; their name frequently occurs in
the Parish Registers in connection with bequests and
charities. Evelyn, in his diary, notes that on 23rd
May, 1659, he visited Sir William Hicks at Rook-
wood or Ruckholt s.
5 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE,
Pepys paid a visit to Ruckholt, just at the time
the Great Plague was at its height, and his account
of it is so amusing that it is well worth quoting : —
** 13th September, 1665. My Lord Brouncker, Sir J.
Minnes and I took boat, and in my lord's coach to
Sir W. Hickes's, whither by-and-by my Lady Batten
and Sir William comes. It is a good seat, with a fair
grove of trees by it, and the remains of a good gar-
den; but so let to run to ruine, both house and
everything in and about it, so ill-furnished and mis-
erably looked after, I never did see in all my life.
Not so much as a latch to his dining room door,
which saved him nothing, for the wind blowing into
the room for want thereof, flung down a great bow
pott that stood upon a side table, and that fell upon
some Venice glasses, and did him a crown's worth of
hurt. He did give us the meanest dinner of beef,
shoulder and umbles of venison, which he takes away
from the keeper of the forest, and a few pigeons, and
all in the meanest manner that ever I did see to the
basest degree. I was only pleased at a very fine
pidlure of the Queene-Mother, when she was young,
by Vandike ; a very good pidlure and a lovely face."
Ruckholt House, after having been used in later
times for meetings, entertainments, &c., was pulled
down in 1757 ; but it is said that much of the old
foundations, large arched and pillared cellars, still
remain, covered with some depth of earth, and even
ploughed over.
In the fifth edition, dated 1753, of A Tour through
the whole Island of Great Britaitiy by a Gentleman
(said to be Daniel Defoe), he states that ** there
have been discerned within these few years, in the
bottom of Hackney Marsh, between Old Ford and
the Wyck, the remains of a great stone causeway,
THE MANORS. ^
which is supposed to have been the highway, or great
road from London to Essex, instead of that which
now leads over the bridge between Bow and Stratford.
That the great road by this way, and that the great
causeway continued just over the river where now the
Temple Mills stand, and passed by Sir Henry
Hickes' house, at Ruckholt (now turned into a place
of entertainment agreeable to the depraved taste of
this luxurious age) is not all doubted ; and that it
was one of those famous highways made by the
Romans, there is undeniable proof, by the several
marks of Roman work, and by Roman coins, and
other antiquities found there some of which were col-
lected by the late Rev. Mr. Strype, Vicar of Low
La3^on. From hence the Great Road passed up to
Laytonstone, a place known now by the sign of the
* Green Man, ' formerly a lodge upon the edge of
the forest, and crossing by Wansted House, the
noble seat of Earl Tilney, went over the same river
which we now cross at Ilford." He also speaks of
**the villages being filled with fine seats, most of
them built by the citizens of London, but the lustre
of them seems to be entirely eclipsed by Wanstead
House."
The Manors.
AT the Domesday Survey, the Abbot of West-
minster, Robert, son of Corbutio or Corbucion,
Peter de Valoines, Hugh de Montfort and Robert
Gernon, held the parish, which is now in three
manors. The flDanor Of XC^^tOll, or Leyton
Grange (which was once held by Earl Harold, in King
Edward's reign) being the estate which belonged to
Robert de Corbutio, was given by Walter de Cor-
pechun to the Abbot and Convent of Stratford Lang-
HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
thorne, and confirmed by Ralph de Ardene, about
the year 1200. It is called in this grant the Church
and Wood of Leyton ; the deed is signed by Hubert,
Archbishop of Canterbury, who sat in that See from
1193 to 1206 (Lysons). In 1545, it was granted by
Henry VIII. to Lord Wriothesly, Lord Chancellor
of England, who sold it to Sir Ralph Warren, Lord
Mayor of London, who died possessed of it. It
descended to Richard, his son, who died 25th March,
1599, and he was succeeded by his sister Joan's son
and heir, Oliver Cromwell, of Hinchinbrook, the
uncle of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell — who is
otherwise mentioned in connection with Leyton. It
afterwards passed to the Ryder and Gansel families,
and was sold by the latter about 1783, with part of
the estate to Mr. Pardoe, one of the Directors of the
Honorable East India Company, and descended to
his heirs. Sir William Ryder was Lord Mayor of
London in 160 1.
The second in importance the flDanOt Ol
IRUCllbOlt — Saxon '* Hrocholt,'* Rookwood, of which
the " Hamlet of Leytonstone " forms a part and not
of Leyton, is of principal interest in this connection,
and was in the thirteenth century the property of
William de Bumpsted Steple; it then passed through
several hands until Sir Richard Charlton who in-
herited it, was, in consequence of his attachment to
Richard III. attainted of high treason, and the
Manor fell into the hands of the Crown. In 1487,
Henry VII. granted it to Sir John Rysley, on whose
death it escheated to the Crown, and was granted in
I5i3> by Henry VIII., to William, Lord Compton,
ancestor of the Earls of Northampton, he, in 1592,
sold it to Henry Parvish, whose widow married Sir
Michael Hickes ; it remained in the possession of the
THE MANORS. g
Hickes family till 1720. It eventually was purchased
in 1731, by Ann, relict of Frederick Tylney, Esq.,
and was afterwards vested with the rest of the Tylney
estates in the daughter and sole heiress of Sir James
Tylney Long, Bart., who died in 1794, through whom
it came into the possession of the Mornington and
Cowley families.
The flDanor of flDarIl0t ^^^ third and much
the smallest Manor, belonged to the Priory of St.
Helen's, and after the dissolution of that Monastery
in 1545, it was granted by Henry VHI. to Paul
Withipol ; it was, after many changes of ownership,
incorporated with Leyton by Mr. Gansell, who had
bought it, and finally was purchased by Mr. Pardoe.
MONUMENT OF SIR MICHAEL AND LADY HICKES IN LEYTON CHURCH.
CHAPTER II.
Old Residences and Residents.
Walwood — Forest House — Leytonstone House — Sycamore House —
Leyspring House — " Ivy Bank *' — " Bushwood" — Tylney House
— Phillibrook House — Bourne House — Royal Lodge — Park
House—" The Cedars "—"The Pastures "—Chestnut House-
Cromwell House — Gainsborough House, &c. — and noteworthy
Residents' names.
JEFOE, in his Tour (1753), previously re-
ferred to, speaks of the increase in Ley ton,
Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Woodford,
Wanstead, West Ham, &c.; of the *' hand-
some large houses, being chiefly the habitations of the
richest citizens, such as are able to keep a country as
well as a town house, or such as have left off trade
altogether. This is so apparent that they tell me
there are no less than 200 coaches kept by the in-
habitants within the few villages named above." But
of the history of these as well as the many still older
time residences which Leytonstone once contained,
comparatively little information can be obtained,
except as to Walwood and two or three others.
IKIlalWOO&« — Fisher states that in early times
leave was sometimes given to the owner of Forest
land to make into a park, and there was a park in
Le)rton, anciently called Corbicum (qy. after Cor-
WALWOOD HOUSE. u
buto) or Corpechum, in 1222 Carpetune, afterwards,
in the 15th century, Wally Wode, and finally Wal-
wood.
The first license as to enclosure of Corpechum,
was granted by Henry III., and merely empowered
the owners of Corpechum (the Abbot and Convent
of Stratford) to so enclose it that the King's wild
beasts might still pass in and out ; but, by another
charter, in 1253, they were not only allowed to make
it into an enclosed park and to assart it and till it,
but it was declared to be disafforested. This charter
was enrolled in 1277, and confirmations of it made
in 1284 and 1319 were enrolled in 1292 and 1324,
and claims founded on it were allowed in 1489 and
subsequently.
After several changes of ownership it became
vested in the crown, and during the Commonwealth,
an action was brought in Trinity term, 1655, against
Skinner Ryder, Lord of the Manor, to quiet the Pro-
tector in the possession of the wood.
In the year 1693, Richard, Lord Colchester, had
a grant of 250 acres of land in the Forest of Wal-
tham, in or near Leyton, for the term of 99 years,
renewed in 1778 to Dorothea Ousley for 31 years.
This estate, which is called Walwood, is described
by Lord Chief Baron Manwood in his book of Forest
LawSy as being not within the bounds of the Forest
of Waltham, but yet " no part of it nor within the
regard thereof," viz., not subject to the Forest Laws.
Lord Colchester built a house there, and in 1748,
it was in the tenure of Mr. Lewis ; in 1783 Thomas
Farrer, living at Walwood, was assessed at £^^^
and Robert Adams, at Walwood Farm, was at the
same time assessed at ;^88. In 181 2, Walwood
12 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
Farm was in the possession of James Fletcher.
Walwood House was tenanted in 1794 by Robert
Williams, to whom, in 1809, the lease was renewed
for 99f years. It soon afterwards came into the pos-
session of Mr. William Cotton, Governor of the
Bank of England, who tlien built the present Wal-
wood House, and the Cotton family, including Lord
Justice Cotton, Miss Cotton, the well-known philan-
thropist, &c., held possession for many years. In
1894 it was bought by the present occupant, Mr. T.
A. Smith, who retained only a few acres of the
grounds, the remainder being covered with new roads
and buildings forming the Walwood estate, in which
St. Andrew's Church now stands.
The foundations of the old house are still easily
distinguishable, most of the second house was
adapted to form an adjunct to the present one, and
the land around is full of old tree roots of the earlier
wood. In the old papers, hereinafter referred to, it
is stated that in 1678, when the Ley ton Vicarage was
re-built by Rev. John Strype, that ** towards ye fur-
niture of the house and garden, the Right Honble.
Thomas, Earl of Danby, Lord High Treasurer of
England, granted some oaks in * Wallwood;' possibly
he then resided there, and may have accompanied
King Charles II. in his hunting expeditions in the
surrounding forest."
Mr. William Cotton, who built the present
Walwood House, was the grandson of Dr. Nathaniel
Cotton, a Physician of St. Albans, a friend of Cow-
per and Dr. Edward Young (author of NightThoughts)^
and the third son of Joseph Cotton, who lived at
Walnut Tree House, Leyton, and who was in the
East India Company's Service, in command of the
WALWOOD HOUSE. 13
** Queen Charlotte," and became one of its directors,
and a deputy master of the Trinity House ; he retired
to Leyton, and died there in 1825. William Cotton
was bom at Leyton, in 1786, educated at Chigwell,
married in 1812, Sarah, the only daughter of Thomas
Lane, who was Churchwarden of Leyton from 1800
to 18 1 6, and was a descendant of Colonel Lane, of
Bentley Hall, Staffordshire, whose daughter aided
King Charles II. by taking him as her serving man
on a pillion, when he fled to the coast and embarked
for Fecamp; their family of seven were all born at
Walwood, and he died there in 1866. He was a
partner in the firm of Huddart and Co., became
Governor of the Bank of England in 182 1, and in-
vented the automatic machine in use there for weigh-
ing gold. He was a member of various learned and
philanthropic societies ; his charitable gifts amounted
to a large sum; he took a special interest in the
building of Churches, greatly interested himself in
the building of St. John Baptist, Leytonstone ; St.
Thomas, one of ten in Bethnal Green, was erected
at his cost, in memory of one of his sons, and St.
Paul's, Bow Common, of which his son William was
first incumbent, followed by his son Arthur. Bishop
Blomfield called him his *'Lay Archdeacon.'* An-
other of his sons, Sir Henry, became one of H. M.
Judges and member of the Judicial Committee of
Privy Council. Sarah, his daughter, became the wife
of the distinguished Professor Acland, of the Uni-
versity of Oxford, who founded the Acland Refuge
there for poor children, and she took a very active
interest in her husband's work in the University.
Agnes Cotton, the youngest daughter, remained
unmarried ; she opened a Home for Friendless Girls
in 1865, at Forest Glade, in Whipp's Cross Road*
14 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
At the death of Mr. William Davis (about 1877-8,
she bought his estate of eight acres, on either side of
Davis' Lane, with the house — ^which she re-named
**The Pastures," and built there, in 1879, the **Home
of the Good Shepherd " for young girls ; having ex-
tensive buildings for laundry work, two cottages for
infirmary, a private chapel, etc. During her severe
illness a few years after, she made over the entire
place by deed to the community of the '' Clewer
Sisters," for them to take it over at her decease,
which took place on 20th May, 1899, at the age of
71. It was then occupied by a branch of the com-
munity of Sisters, who have made very extensive
alterations, adding a new wing to the Home.
jforCSt IbOUSCt at the end of James' Lane (so
named after Robert James, who lived in a farm-
house there in 1773), a little beyond Walwood, an-
ciently belonged to the Abbots of Waltham. In the
17th century it was in the possession of Charles
Goring, Earl of Norwich ; later on, it passed into
the hands of the Heathcote family ; they afterwards
sold it to the Bosanquets, in whose possession it
evidently was for at least 100 years, and it remained
in their possession until 1831. They were a Hugue-
not family of London merchants. Samuel Bosan-
quet. Governor of the Bank of England, Chairman
of Essex Sessions, &c., died there in January, 1765,
aged 65 ; Mary Bosanquet, his daughter, was born
there in 1739, and is hereinafter referred to in con.
nection with ** The Cedars ;" Charles, his second
son. Governor of the South Sea Company, High
Sheriff of Northumberland, &c., was born there in
1769, and died at Rpck, Northumberland, in 1850.
Sir John Bernard, 1773 — 1814, was born at Forest
House. He was a Judge of Common Pleas, Stand-
LEYT0N8T0NE HO USE, , 5
ing Counsel to the Bank of England and East India
Company, &c. It was afterwards inhabited by Mr.
Robinson, until 1840, followed by Mr. Hubbard, a
relative of D. J. Morgan, Esq., our present M.P. ;
he died in 1847, and his widow resided there till
1 85 1. His son was made a peer, under the title of
Lord Addington, and his daughter married the Rev.
C. J. Laprimaudaye, nephew of the Vicar of Leyton.
Mr. Morgan states that his earliest recollections go
back to the time " when, as a very small boy, I used
to walk over from Leytonstone across the fields to
Forest House, past where St. Andrew's Church now
stands, to take my lessons with the governess of the
family of Hubbards, my cousins ; and I remember
well that Mrs. Hubbard, the mother of the late Lord
Addington, gave children's parties there, at which I
was present — I am speaking now of about 1 849-1 851."
Mr. Wm. Fowler, the banker, afterwards occu-
pied the house ; and it has recently passed into the
possession of the West Ham Union, who have now
erected their immense infirmary thereon.
XeiJtOnfitOne ftOUee, at Forest Edge, was for
many years the property of the Buxton family. Sir
Edward North Buxton, who long resided there, was
the son of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, who married
the fifth daughter of John Gurney, of Earlham, Nor-
folk, was the friend of Wilberforce, and was associa-
ted with him on questions of slavery, prisons, &c. ;
he was born in 1786, created a baronet in 1840, and
died in 1845. ^^^ Edward, born in 1812, was con-
nected with the famous firm of brewers; and, in
1836, married the second daughter of the banker and
famous quaker, Samuel Gurney, of Ham House,
Upton. His son, Mr. E. North Buxton, is verderer
of Hainault Forest, takes unwearying interest in its
1 5 HISTORY OF LEYT0N8T0NE.
welfare, and has written a very valuable book on the
subject. He now resides at Knighton.
The house eventually came into the possession
of the Bethnal Green Board of Guardians, who now
have a very extensive establishment there for their
juvenile poor.
Sycamore 1>0U6C is a large old house situated
on the west side of the High Road, near its northern
end. In 1783, Mr. Wm. Hanson resided there, and
in the i8th century it was in the possession of the
Sanson family, who also owned the whole of the
Fillebrook estate, and from whom, in the first half of
the 19th century, the land was purchased upon which
the church of St. John Baptist now stands. The
house was bought in 1858 and is now inhabited by
A. Lister, Esq., J. P., the brother of the celebrated
Lord Lister, the discoverer of the antiseptic treat-
ment of wounds, who was recently consulted in the
illness of King Edward VH. Mr. John Alphonso
Doxat, whose name frequently appears in connection
with the early history of St. John's, resided there
in 1812.
Xcp0OrinO IbOUSC was a fine house, having a
spring in the courtyard, with very extensive grounds,
grazing fields, &c., covering over 33 acres, bounded
on the north by Park Road (now Browning Road)
and on the south and east by Bushwood; on the
west it extended nearly to Mornington Road. The
famous Wanstead House, which was the seat of the
Earl of Mornington, the owner of Leyspring estate,
was a very short distance to the east, across Bush-
wood, and almost within view. Harrison, who visited
it in 1775, says, ** before the front of the house is a
long vista, which reaches to the great road at Leigh-
ton Stone" (this, of course, is the present avenue in
LBTaPRING AND BUSHWOOD. jj
Bushwood). Leyspring House was destroyed by fire
several years ago. The estate, the property of the
Wellesley and Cowley families, has within the last
few years become the property of Mrs. C. A. Dring-
Knighton, and is now covered with roads and houses,
including the new vicarage, which occupies a site
very near that of the original mansion.
Mr. John MofFatt resided there in 1783 ; Mr.
John Coope in 181 2. It was afterwards in the occu-
pation of Mr. Nicholas Charrington, the founder of
the well-known brewery, and much beloved for his
hospitality and kindness to rich and poor. Miss
Charrington became the wife of Rev. H. H. Evans,
who was incumbent of St. John's, Lejrtonstone, from
1844 to 1863 ; her brothers were Rev. George Char-
rington, one of the early missionaries to New Zea-
land, and Messrs. Charles and Fredk. Charrington ;
Mr. F. N. Charrington was one of the family. He
tells a graphic story of his conversion from a brewer
to a temperance reformer. " He was going one night
to a mission hall in a low slum in the East End, and
saw a poor woman go to the dopr of a public house
and say, * Oh, Jack, give me some money, the child-
ren are crying for bread.* The husband's only reply
was to knock his wife into the gutter. Mr. Charring-
ton looked up at the house and saw in large letters
the name * Charrington, Head & Co.,' and from that
moment he determined never to enter the > brewery
again or have anything more to do with it. It
meant a sacrifice of one-and-a-quarter millions ster-
ling, but he thanked heaven he was allowed to get
rid of the responsibility."
At the time of the fire, Leyspring House was in
the occupation of Mr. H. Adams. Rev. A. O.
Russell, curate at St John's, who then resided at
c
I» J^lMVmY OF iSYTOmtdifB.
Rose Cottage, received very serioas injuries at the
fire, and was assiduously nursed at Walwood House
by Mr. Cotton's family,
3V? IfSsnflt with pretty grounds overlooking the
" Green Man Pond," has for many years been in the
occupation of Mr. G. A. Hutchison, the genial
editor of the Boys Own Paper.
!SU6bW00^t ^ large old house still possessing
very fine old marble mantelpieces, and with much of
the very old fashioned character retained, has very
pretty grounds, also overlooking the pond, and is
occupied by iMr. J. M. Knight, Surveyor to the
Mile End Board. ^^InC^^ t)OU0Ct and some other
old houses adjoin.
iPbillibroOft IbOUSC, a fine residence, was pur-
chased by Sir Ledger de Grey (whose family came
to England in 1685, at the Revocation of the Edict
of Nantes), and remained in his possession till 181 1;
it was then purchased by Mr. John Alfonso Doxat,
whose name and that of his son frequently occur
in connection with Lejrtonstone Church affairs. He
was of Swiss descent, and connected with a noted
firm of Spitalfields silk weavers. He died in that
house in 1849. It was afterwards sold and pulled
down in 1889.
The Bourne Estate.
As appears from Salmon's History and Antiquities
of London (1740), and A New History of Essex
(1770), both in the British Museum, George Swanley,
captain of a ship (possibly the Captain Swanley to
whom Pepys refers as commanding the York^ in the
naval engagement with the Dutch under De Ruyter,
in 1666,) whose name occurs in 1656 as an inhabitant
BCXmim X81ATJB. 19
of Lej^dn, ^Bernard Ostley (Ozler), and Robert
Abbot, Were joint purchasers of the Manor and
Rectory of Leyton, 22nd January, 1649. John Smith,
of London, merchant, afterwards bought Abbot's
third part, and, by will, gave it to the poor of Lin-
cdlfi. Morant states, no doubt more correctly, that
John Smith gave it to the Corporation of Lincoln
as Trustees for the Poor of Bourne ; and Lysons states
that the poor of Bourne have an estate in Leyton-
stone but no interest in the Manor. This is evidently
the Bourne Estate which comprises a very large por-
tion of Leytonstone, extending from Church Lane
to Royal Lodge, and some distance to the west of
the Great Eastern Railway, much of which, long in
the occupation of Messrs. Protheroe & Morris for
their extensive nurseries, has recently been laid out
in roads and covered with hundreds of houses.
Many of the earlier houses fronting the High Road
ar6 now converted into shops, and a few of the some-
what dilapidated old cottages in the High Road still
remain.
3B0UrnC 1>OU0C) situated at the southern end
of the estate, was for many years in the occupation
of the Messrs. Protheroe, senior and junior, who
both died there ; its present occupant is Mr. Griffiths.
The house now known as ** fcoImIan&6," at
present in the occupation of Dr. Brown, was the
birthplace of the present parliamentary representa-
tive of the district, Mr. D. J. Morgan, M.P., who
took a prominent part in securing for the public the
free use of the Forest, through the intervention of
the Corporation of London ; and the district owes
much to both his late father and himself for the pro-
motion of its progress and welfare in very many
c 2
20 BI8T0BT OF LBTTONaiONE.
ways. Mr. Harby, father-in-law to Dr. Cooper, the
former greatly-esteemed and kindly Churchwarden
of St. John's, elsewhere referred to, also resided there.
*' 1?01?al lO&OC" in the High Road, opposite
Davis' Lane, was a very old residence, but at the
date of the accompanying illustration had been con-
siderably modernised ; the grounds originally ex-
tended considerably beyond the present Midland
Railway, and there are still some yews, hollies, &c.,
in the garden evidently of great age. It is generally
believed to have been used as a hunting lodge by
King Charles II., and even by Queen Elizabeth, thus
showing the derivation of its name. It is not impro-
bable that it was also so used by Kings James I. and
IL, who both hunted in the forest. It was certainly
very ancient, and some large extremely old stables,
which probably once appertained to it, were pulled
down when the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway
was built. A subterranean passage still partially ex-
ists in the grounds, which once led across the road
to the *' Cedars " opposite, said to have been occu-
pied by Nell Gwynne. The part which crossed the
High Road was broken through some years since,
when the large sewer was constructed.
The original building {see illmtration) destroyed
by fire in 1878, when in the possession of Mr.
Clayton, was re-built by him, still bearing the old
name, and is now in the possession of the writer.
Miss Clayton writes, that *' during the time of re-
storation, a great number of old coins of the reign
of Charles I. were found, also some buckles, which
my father jokingly remarked had belonged to the
shoes of Nell Gwynne, as she was known to have
been a frequent visitor there. There was a splendidly
carved old mantelpiece in the room upstairs, which
ROYAL LODGE, 2 1
was formerly used as the banqueting room; there
was also some very fine carving in other rooms. The
property at one time included * Shrublands,' next
door to it, in fact I believe the Chapel belonging to
Royal Lodge stood on the site * Shrublands ' is built
on."
A large old house, with considerable grounds,
stood upon the site now occupied by Balfour Terrace.
Its last occupant was Mr. Drake, but it was unused
for a long time, and it is not many years since it was
pulled down for building purposes; it was at one
time in the occupation of Mr. Sims, a West India
planter.
park 1)0U6C — close to the Midland station in
the High Road, is a fine house, though now some-
what dilapidated. It once possessed very extensive
grounds extending in the direction of the present St.
Augustine's Church. It has an elaborate coat of
arms over the doorway, but it is difficult to find
much information as to its early inhabitants.
In an old map, dated 1721, the land adjoining
the house bears the name of Cookes : in Cox's His-
tory of Essex y ** Mr. Cookes' seat at Leightonstone "
(sic) is named, and Miss Cookes of Leytonstone was
married by license in 1729, it was, therefore, probably
in their possession at that time ; in more recent
times it was occupied by Mr. Ninds, and later by
Mr. David Hart, by whom it was elaborately de-
corated.
TtbC Cc&arS was a fine old house facing the
High Road, close to the corner of Davis' Lane, and
the estate belonging to it was on the site of the pre-
sent Femdale Road. It was apparently connected
with Royal Lodge by the subterranean passage which
22 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONB,
still partially exists, and tradition says it was occupied
by Nell Gwynne. It had two splendid cedars in
front, one of which was blown down by a heavy gale,
and the other, with the old house, were removed
little more than twenty years ago, some small por-
tions of the foundations can even now be seen. Miss
Mary Bosanquet, who was born at Forest House, in
1739, and grew up there, having had serious differ-
ences with her family on the subject of Wesleyanism,
removed and afterwards resided at the Cedars from
1763 to 1768, where she established a charitable in-
stitution. Wesley preached there. She became the
wife of the Rev. John Fletcher, (John de la Flechire),
John Wesley's designated successor. Mrs. Fletcher
endowed the Wesleyan Church at Leyton, hence its
name, "The Mary Fletcher Wesleyan Church."
The Cedars was, for many years in the middle of last
century, occupied by Mr. (or Capt.) Tebbutt, who,
as Mr. Morgan writes, was **one of those who, in the
old days, with Mr. Cotton of Walwood, Mr. Charring-
ton of Leyspring, and old Mr. Doxat of the High
Road, Leytonstone, were always ready to do every-
thing possible to help in every good work in Leyton-
stone, which was then one of the prettiest villages
which could be imagined.'*
The house now known as ^bC lpa0tUrC0t in
Davis' Lane, was, at the time of building St. John's,
in the possession of Mr. Wm. Davis (who gave the
name to the lane), with about eight acres of adjoining
land, gardens, &c, He, with Mr. Wm. Cotton, of
Walwood, was most indefatigable in promoting the
building of St. John's Church, and very munificently
contributed to it, he was its first warden and held
that office nearly 22 years.
The house is of great age, it is even supposed to
THE PASTUBBS. 23
date back to the i6th or 17th century. It is very
strongly built, most of the walls of even outbuildings
being 18 inches thick, all the window frames are of
solid mahogany, and are apparently the original ones.
Its front staircase is very broad, made of oak, the
loft with stairs, posts, floors, &c., are also of oak.
The stable carries a weather-vane dated 1730, but the
building is evidently much older. An old leaden
cistern there bears the inscription dvm A very long
1687 1
outbuilding, still in perfect condition, is said to have
been used by the owner during the Commonwealth
to drill his men in during wet days when they could
not work outside; and it was apparently similarly
used at the commencement of the 19th century, there
axe still in the place several relics of those times, such
as old. bayonets with broken wooden handles, old
dilapidated swords, scabbards, &c.
Mr. Dicker, churchwarden of St. John's from
1868 to 1875, residedthere. It was bought, in 1877-8,
by Miss Agnes Cotton, who there founded the
" Home of the Good Shepherd/* (See p. 13.)
The Burness family resided near the house now
occupied by the Salisbury Club, and the Grove Road
was cut through their estate, which extended to Park
Road.
Mrs. Elliott, the donor of the Elliott Room, re-
sided next to the Salisbury Club, and the estate
around the Elliot Room was the property of the
Baxter family.
The house now occupied by the Salisbury Club,
at the corner of Aylmer Road, was once in the oc-
cupation of Mr. Benjamin Cotton, brother of Mr.
Cotton, of. *? Walwood," and it was afterwards occu-
pied by. Mr. Doxat
24 HISTORY OF LBYTONSTONE.
CbCdtnUt 'bouse, formerly occupied by Mr.
Collins, once churchwarden of St. John's, was on
the east side of the High Road, and was pulled
down for the Midland Railway.
£adIC 'bouse, a fine house, with beautiful iron
entrance gates, flanked by pillars capped with eagles,
stood on the west side of High Road, nearly opposite
the *' Bell,'' and was once in the occupation of Mr.
Wheen, churchwarden of St. John's.
CromVPell 'bOUSet at the comer of Barclay
Road, was so named by Mr. Wickham, who bought
it in 1865. He and his family have resided in it ever
since ; Mr. Hervey previously resided there. It had
a large number of farm buildings adjoining, but they
were pulled down when the site was required for new
buildings. Mr. Wickham took a prominent part in
connection with the Congregational Chapel in the
High Road, and in much of the philanthropic work
in the district, and his work is carried on by his son.
(BainSbOrOUab feOUSe, at the corner of Gains-
borough Road, was inhabited by Dr. F. Cooper, who,
with his father, was for many years in medical prac-
tice in Wanstead and Le3rtonstone. He was church-
warden of St. John's, and worked most usefully in the
parish, and was succeeded by Dr. Walker, and after-
by Dr. Jekyll, who now resides there. Before the
making of Gainsborough Road, a footpath a little
farther north led across the fields towards Leyton.
Mr. Morgan, M.P., writes : — "From the Church
northwards, after passing what was then a field, one
came to Mr. Payze's farmyard, straw-littered, with
its large black gate and black thatched barn, and
then, beyond, a number of cottages with gardens
which were always bright with flowers." The £airm-
OTHSR NOTABLE NAMES, 25
house itself was altered and made into a modem
residence, and was for several years occupied by Mr.
George Field Morris, of the Firm of Protheroe &
Morris, auctioneers ; it now bears the name of ** The
Limes." Mr. Payze, who held the farm, was at one
time landlord of the " Crown ;" his family were verj-
old inhabitants of the district, and still hold property
in it.
It is much to be regretted, that although the
district once contained so many other fine old resi-
dences, further information respecting them and their
inhabitants is so meagre and indefinite, that it has
not been found practicable to write much more on
the subject which could be at all reliable.
Other Noteworthy Names.
IT is noticeable how many French and foreign
names occur in the various documents and in con-
nection" with the district, and it seems evident that
many of the Huguenots and refugees who fled from
France, Brabant, &c., to avoid such persecutions as
followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in
1685, &c., settled in the neighbourhood and soon
made their influence beneficially felt. The names of
Bosanquet, Dubordieu, Laprimaudaye, Boulnois,
Crespigny, Loubiere, Capon, Doxat, Daubuz, and
others appear, some most prominently, in furtherance
of good work in connection with the religious move-
ment elsewhere detailed, and will therefore be omitted
here, as well as the names of those otherwise noted
in connection with that work, but a few names not
otherwise noted will now be added.
"Roc* Sir Thomas Roe, the first English Am-
bassador to the East, was born at Leyton in 1580,
26 HISTOR Y OF LB YT0NS70NE,
He was knighted in 1604, and went on a voyage of
discovery to the West Indies. In 1614, he was sent
by James I. on an embassy to the Great Mogul, from
whose Court he removed to that of the Grand Seig-
nor, where he obtained very substantial advantages
for his countrymen. On his return, he was made .
Chancellor of the Garter and a member of the Privy
Council. He brought to this country the famous
Alexandrine Greek manuscript of the Bible, which
he obtained from the Patriarch of Alexandria, and
which is now in the British Museum. He died in
1644.
1>OU{)lOn. The name of Houblon frequently
occurs in connection with this district. The family
fled to England during the religious persecutions by
the Duke of Alva, in Brabant. Sir James repre-
sented the City of London in 1648, another becamp
Lord Mayor of London in 1677, and a third, Sir
John, was Lord Mayor in 1696. He was also Gov-
ernor of the Bank of England, and Commissioner of
the Admiralty in 1694. He subscribed £100 to the
Greenwich Hospital Fund, and Sir James gave ;^io
to the poor of Leyton, which was distributed in
1702. Their descendants are the Houblons, of Hal-
lingbury Place, Essex, and Culverthorpe, Lincoln ;
one of the family attended Pepys' funeral. On mar-
riage with the ancient family of Archer, of Cooper-
sale, Theydon Gernon, Essex, they adopted the
additional " Archer " to their former name.
In Evelyn^s Diary occurs the following note, i6th
March, 1683 : ** To Houblon's, building a house in
the Forest near Sir J. Child's, where the late Earl
of Norwich dwelt, and which came to him from his
Lady, the widow of Mr. Baker." Anotjier npte is :
OTHER NOTEWORTHY NAMES, 27
" Visited tke Earl of Norwich at his house in Epping
Forest, where many good pictures in the wainscot
brought from Spain by Mr. Baker, his Lordship's
predecessor there " (Wanstead House). It is under-
stood that the trees in the numerous avenues radia-
ting from Wanstead House were planted under
Evelyn's direction and supervision,
Hrcbcn The ancient family of Archer, long
connected with the history of the district, was de-
scended from Simon de Bois, renamed by the King
after the battle of Agincourt in 141 5. Henry Archer,
whose bequest, in 1584, of a rent-charge on *' Cooper-
sale" is hereinafter referred to, was the father of Judge
Archer. Sir John Archer was Sergeant-at-Law in
1660, and Puisne Judge of Common Pleas in 1663.
Mr. and Mrs. Archer Houblon, the representatives
of the Archer and Houblon families, owned and re-
sided at " Coopersale " in the middle of the last
century.
1?Uml)0l&. Sir Thomas Rumbold, Bart., of
" Woodhall,'' Watton, Herts, Governor of Madras,
and later M.P. for Shoreham, was born at Leyton-
stone, in 1736; the family having previously resided
at Fulham. His eldest son, Sir George Berriman
Rumbold, was Minister Resident to the Hanse
Towns, and was seized at Hamburg by the French
and taken to Paris in October, 1804. He was after-
wards released, and arrived in London in the follow-
ing November. The Right Honorable Sir Horace
Rumbold, Bart., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., late H.M. Am-
bassador at Vienna, is the present representative of
the family.
1?itCbie. The Right Honble. Chas. T. Ritchie,
M.P. for Croydon, formerly Secretaiy to the Acjmiral-
28 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
ty, and who recently resigned the Chancellorship of
the Exchequer ; also his brother, now Lord Mayor of
London, have both been residents in Leytonstone.
The well-known illusionist. Pepper, inventor of
" Pepper's Ghost," resided in Leytonstone, and re-
cently died there.
Tom Hood once resided in Lake House, Bush-
wood, and there wrote Tilney Hall, The Epping
Hunt, &c.
Mr. William Whittingham, who resides in
Walnut Tree Cottage, which he built a few years ago,
is the representative of a very old Leytonstone family.
His father, Mr. John Whittingham, long resided
there, and with his brother. Rev. Samuel Whitting-
ham, D.D., rector of Childrey, Berkshire, had estates
there on the east side of High Road, between Davis'
Lane and Harrow Green ; they were the sons of
Rev. Richard Whittingham, vicar of Potten, Bed-
fordshire, where a marble tablet with a medallion
portrait, by Westmacott, was erected in the church
to his memory.
Rev. Pitt Wigram, one of the early curates in
charge of St. John's, afterwards became rector of
Wanstead, and his brother, Mr. Money Wigram, the
eminent shipbuilder and owner, resided at " Wood-
house," Harrow Green, in the middle of the 19th
century.
Sir MoRELL Mackenzie, the throat speciahst who
attended the German Emperor Frederick in his last
illness, was born in 1837 ^t Leytonstone, where his
father was in practice as a physician; his brother
Stephen was also a noted physician. The house was
in the High Road, near the present Grove Road,
where they last resided, and in front of which the
OTHER NOTABLE! NAMJB8. 29
father was accidentally killed ; but the birthplace of
Sir Morell was at the corner of Park Road, and is
still in existence. He died in 1892.
Mr. Henry C. Fehr, who is becoming famous
as a sculptor, is a native of Leytonstone, and for
years resided at the ''Shrublands," adjoining Royal
Lodge. To quote the Encyclopcedia Britannica: "He
was a pupil at the Royal Academy and of Mr. Brock,
and contributed the group of *' Perseus and Andro-
meda " (10 ft. high) to the Academy in 1893, when it
was purchased for the Chantrey collection (Tate
Gallery). His subsequent ideal works, * H)^nos
bestowing Sleep upon the Earth ' (also 10 ft. high),
'The Spirit of the Waves,' *St. George and the
rescued Maiden,' and 'Ambition's Crown fraught
with Pain,' confirmed the high opinion of his clever-
ness ; but in some of them his exuberance tells some-
what against their general effect, in spite of their
inherent grace and strength. On the other hand,
the statue of 'James Watt,' for the city square of
Leeds, exhibits those qualities needful for open air
portraiture ; and his busts and statues have character
and life." Others of his important public commis-
sions are the Queen Victoria Memorial for Hull (35
ft. high), with richly-carved pedestal and bronze side
groups; "Dr. Cartwright," for Bradford; "John
Harrison," for Leeds; " Gladstone, " for Liverpool
and New Zealand ; 28 marble busts for the Institu-
tion of Civil Engineers ; busts of Browning, Ruskin,
Morris, Passmore Edwards, and others, in various
Institutes of London ; four coloured panels, 27 ft.
long, of the " Wars of the Roses," for the Municipal
buildings, Wakefield, &c.
Lady Margaret Bryan, of Leyton, was princi-
pal governess to Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth.
JO HISTORY OF tBYTO^SfONE.
Monuments and Graves.
THERE are no monumental tablets nor monu-
ments in the Church, and no particularly striking
monuments in the churchyard, although many mem-
bers of prominent local families are buried there.
Mr. William Cotton, so often previously referred to,
was buried there in December, 1866, aged 80 ; also
his wife in December, 1872, aged 82 ; William Charles
Cotton, in June, 1879, aged 66 ; Agnes Cotton (of
'*The Pastures," in May, 1899, aged 71.
Mr. Nicholas Charrington was buried there in
June, 1859, aged 83 ; likewise his wife and several of
his children, as well as many of the Buxton family.
Madame de Bunsen, a daughter of Mr. Samuel Gur-
ney and sister of Mrs. Edward North Buxton, was
buried there in January, 1903, aged 85. Among the
wreaths on her coffin was one from the King, who in
his childhood was under her care, and always held
her in high esteem. She was the wife of Baron
Ernest de Bunsen, who only survived her three
months, and was buried in the same grave. Two
de Bunsen children were also buried there. Susan-
nah Barclay, of Forest Place, was buried there in
May, 1852, aged 63.
Dr. Stephen Mackenzie, the father of Sir Morell
Mackenzie, was accidentally killed in front of his
own house, and was buried near the above-named in
November, 185 1, aged 47. Many of the Arber and
Whittingham families, very old residents, also rest
there. A curious tombstone, showing a cricket bat and
a wicket with the middle stump knocked down, is
erected in memory of Joseph Wood, a cricketer.
GENERAL GLEANINGS. 31
A brass has Tecefitly been placed in the Chilrch,
in memory of White, of Leytonstone, who belonged
to I St King's Dragoon Guards, and was killed in the
war in South Africa, 26th November, 1901. It was
erected by his officers and comrades.
A few General Gleanings.
FISHER'S Forest of Essex. At the Manor Court
of " Rokholt," on 21st May, 1532, it was pre-
sented that the Lord of the Manor might make a
pair of stocks and a pair of gallows between the
Manor of Wanfield {qy. Wanstead) and the Manor
of Rokholts.
In 1698, it was necessary that during some time
cavalry should patrol every evening on the roads near
the boundary between Middlesex and Essex, against
a fraternity of plunderers ; and Essex in the Days of
Old states that letters in 1597 refer to mounted and
masked highwaymen on Leyton heath, who made
their rendezvous at Snaresbrook ; the cave at High
Beach was the resort of Dick Turpin.
The name *' Hainault" is believed to occur in
the records for the first time in 1719-20, and was
variously written in the 13th, 14th and i6th centuries
as Hineholt, Hyneholt, Inholt, and Henholt. The
two books previously named, state that Henry VIII.,
Queen Elizabeth, and James I. were especially fond
of hunting in Epping Forest, and some entries on
the Court rolls show that James' successors some-
times hunted there. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leices-
ter, entertained Queen Elizabeth at Wanstead for
five days, in May, 1578, and she sometime resorted
to the lodge at Chingford which bears her name.
This is fair confirmation of the authenticity of the
P j2 HISTORY OF LETTONaTONB.
f popular statement that Royal Lodge was also used
f by them, and by King Charles IL and King James
[ II. It may also be noted that Queen Mary, on her
^ way to London for her coronation, in August, 1553,
f was entertained at Wanstead House, close by, for
' some days. It is also said that at the time of the de-
molition of Wanstead House, Mr. Davis, of Davis'
I Lane, and Mr. Money Wigram, of " Woodhouse,"
Harrow Green, noting the ruthless destruction, with
a view to the sale of the timber, of the various long
and beautiful avenues planted by Evelyn in the 17th
century, radiating from the front of the house across
• Bushwood in many directions, generously preserved
; for the public such of them as were not already de-
f stroyed, by purchasing them at their own cost, at a
, valuation, and keeping them untouched.
As there was much need of small change pre-
vious to and during the Commonwealth, coins being
* minted in silver and gold only, tokens for halfpennies,
' &c., were current, and were issued in Leytonstone
, and adjoining districts; several are in the British
and West Ham Museums. In 1672, the Mint began
I to issue copper coinage, and tokens were made illegal.
t An Assembly Room, which not many years
f since, still stood at the eastern end of Assembly
J Row, just beyond Walwood, and from which its
name was derived, is said to have been used by the
merchants of London to transact business at the
time of the Great Plague of London, when they
I could not safely meet in the Royal Exchange, in con-
sequence of the danger of infection.
Mr. Strype (elsewhere referred to) the famous
historian and antiquary was, for 68 years, the vicar
of Leyton, and was buried in 1737, aged 94. His
OLD LEYTONSTONE INNS,
As they formerly were, early 19th Century.
The "Qreea Man.'
The **Red LioUi
GENERAL GLEANINGS,
II
father was a merchant and silk throwster, a native of
Brabant, who is said to have fled to this country
to escape from religious persecution in his own. He
lived in a paved alley, afterwards called *'Strype's
Court," in Petticoat Lane, in the parish of Stepney,
and attended St. Dunstan's, Stepney, and was buried
there. His son was born in Strype's Alley, ist Nov-
ember, 1643, educated at St. Paul's School, and
entered Jesus College, Cambridge, 1662, took his
B.A. degree in 1665, and M.A. in 1669, and then
became Curate of Theydon Bois, and in 1679 was
licensed to Leyton Parish Church, at a time when
the living seems to have fallen into abeyance, the
profits of the benefice being only £\b per annum, and
the vicarage a ruin, Mrs. Swanley is named as one
of the Patrons at the time (see Bourne Estate). The
Ecclesiastical Commissioners advised that fpo aug-
mentation should be granted by the Committee of
plundered ministers, and the Manor of Leyton
charged with a payment of ;^3 per annum to the
Vicar. Subsequently, by the aid of wealthy parish-
ioners, a sinecure at Tarring, Sussex, and a lecture-
ship at Hackney, he was placed in comfortable cir-
cumstances, and afterwards commenced his famous
and arduous historical work.
stutpb's msmorial tablet.
34 HISTOR Y OF LB YTONSTONE,
A collection made in Leyton, in 1678, towards
the rebuilding of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul,
after the Great Fire of London, only appears to
have amounted to £^ los.
For the assessment of a " Peny Rate for rob-
bery mony, &c.," made in 1691, the parish was
divided as follows : " Layton Stone (Sir Michael
Hicks, Kt. and Bart., heading the list); Layton
Street; Capworth Street, &c., Landholders."
The following notice was issued at the time of
Napoleon's threatened invasion of England : —
"Leyton, August lo/A, 1803. — ^The Superintendent and
Committee appointed in this Parish for the Purpose
of rendering the Body of the People instrumental
to the general Defence in case of Invasion request a
Meeting of the Inhabitants^ in the Church, on Wed-
nesday next, the 17th instant, at Ten o'clock in the
Morning precisely, in order to consider and deter-
mine on the propriety of immediately entering into
a Subscription in Aid of the Volunteer Corps.
"S. BOSANQUET, JUN.,
" Superintendent and CAairman"
®l& 3nn0* — The names of old Inns in Leyton-
stone occur in various documents on the following
dates : "Harrow" and "Plough and Harrow," 1651
and later; " Green Man " and "Robin Hood," 1670;
"Coach and Horses," 1724; "Bell," 1793; "Red
Lyon," " Crown," &c., also at early dates.
The Pump, opposite the " Green Man," was
repaired in 1819. The Cage was removed to Harrow
Green in 1833.
GENERAL GLEANINGS.
35
Lieutenants of the Forest (some of whom
were resident in Leytonstone) : —
'*Sir William Hicks, 1640— 1670.
William Harvey, 1709— 173 i.
Sir Richard Child, 1733.
Lord Castlemaine, 1743.
Smart Lethieullier, 1754.
John (afterwards Sir) Henniker, 1761.
Samuel Bosanquet, 1803 — 1806, when he died.
Col. Bullock, 1807.
Sir William Smijth, i8ii — 1817.**
From Fisher's Forest of Essex.
PORTRAIT OF JOHN STRYPE.
P 2
i .
CHAPTER III.
Quotations from Old Registers and
other Old Doouments.
Summary of information as to the district in general before the
establishment of Church organization, as contained in the old
documents in St. John's Vestry — Extracts from Parish Registers
— Leytonstone as a little village gradually developing — Striking
and interesting comparisons, quaint and curious quotations
illustrative of its progress.
)S the main object of the book is concisely
to summarise and record the information
voluminously contained in the beforenamed
old documents, and to continue the record
so far as relates to Leytonstone and its Churches up
to the present time ; the foregoing little history will
suffice as an introduction, and the old papers will
now be more particularly referred to, with only short
connecting remarks.
In this chapter, matters of local interest of early
date, to which the old papers relate, will be dealt
with as elucidated by references to public contempo-
rary historical events, which throw much interesting
light upon them; the history will also be carried
down to later times, leaving to following chapters its
ultimate development. The elucidating references,
printed in somewhat larger type, are of course not
contained in the registers, nor are the few other
obvious interpellations.
37
Extracts from Old Papers in
St. Johns Vestry.
ONE of the old books carries back the records to
1584 as relating to Leyton, of which Leyton-
stone was then only a dependent hamlet ; but, as the
earlier portion of the book relates almost exclusively
to bequests, tombs and brasses, parish boundaries,
additions and repairs at old Leyton Church, and as
our present purpose is mainly to refer to matters re-
lating to Le)rtonstone itself, and especially to record
Church progress therein, it will be sufficient to quote
for general illustration, only a few of the earlier
quaint items which throw a curious light on the life
and conditions of the place, especially in the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries.
At the Easter general Vestry, 1677, John Strype,
M.A. (the famous historian and antiquary), ** having
lived and officiated as Minister of the Parish for over
seven years, reminded the parishioners of their pro-
mise at his first coming among them, which was to
repair, or rather if need were, to rebuild the Vicarage
House, which was of a long time very ruinous."
Subscriptions were at once made by " divers of the
well affected parishioners," the Incumbent '* under-
took y* building thereof himself," the '* foundation
of this house was begun to be laid in August, 1677,
and all finished in September the year following, and
y* above named John Strype came into it to dwell
and reside their by the favour of God, 3^ 26 of Sep-
tember, 1678." The building apparently cost;f223
gs. 3d., and there were various gifts of materials;
^8 HISTORY OF LETT0N8T0NS,
but apart from these, the subscriptions only amounted
to ^78 19s., and it would therefore appear that the
Vicar had to make up the balance (;f 144 los. 3d.)
himself, out of his extremely small income.
Another curious minute (30th Oct., 1699,) says,
" Whereas an antient order was made to allow five
pounds for y* perambulation dinner and no more,
and these dinners have generally exceeded, it is
agreed and ordered that hereafter no more shall be
allowed than the s^ sum of five pounds, if any excess
y* churchwarden to bear the charge himself" This
bears the signature of John Strype, Vicar, and a
number of others, but evidently did not have the
desired effect, for a similar Vestry order was made
15 May, 1710, with the addition, " No Churchwarden
without the order of Vestry to lay out in reparation
of the Church and churchyard above 40 sh. , nor any
new work on any pretence whatsoever."
Another illustrative minute (1703), relates to a
dispute between the parishes of Wanstead and "Low
Leighton," as to liability to repair "the wooden
bridge lying cross the road at HoUoway Down, in
Layton Stone Highway being decayed ;" showing
that there must have been water or a stream of some
kind there at that time, and that the road was rather
primitive for a decaying wooden bridge to serve the
purpose in a highway of such importance. A meet-
ing to decide the matter was held on 24 Sept., 1703,
at the " Green Man," in Leyton Stone, consisting of
two Justices of the Peace, the respective Ministers,
and surveyors of each parish, " with divers other in-
habitants of the same. And among the rest of the
proofs in behalf of this (Leyton) Parish, Mr. Strype,
the minister of Low Layton, produced an authentick
paper of 100 years past, wanting only two years,
\
J -
MXTBACTB. ^^
which was writ by one Dawson an ancient man, in
these words, * The Bridge beyond Ruccolds being in
the way as you go to Stratford is in Wanstead parish,
and the bridge which is between Layton stone and
Stratford is in Wanstead parish : For I have known
it this 60 years & it is about 40 years since I dwelt
at Ruccolds, This I speak of my own knowledge.'
On the back side of this paper is writ by the hands
of Sr Michael Hicks Kt. (whose hand Mr. Strype
very well knew) as follows : — * 1609 Goodman Daw-
son's testimony that Wanstead Parish ought to
mend the way between Ruckholts & Stratford Lang-
thome.' " It was decided that Wanstead was liable
for the repairs.
There are further minutes of a Vestry meeting
at the "Blackbirds," on 20th August, 171 1, as to
building of a gallery; and one (26 Dec. 1707,) agree-
ing " that there shall be posts set up in the narrow
of the lane leading by the Bowling Green to the
Marsh, to stop carts from going thro the marsh &
spoiling the land." The hostelries were then evi-
dently largely utilised for meetings, and vestry
meetings " after morning sermon " are frequently
recorded.
There are also several minutes (17 12, &c.) re-
lating to the building and selling of pews and seats
at Leyton Parish Church.
Reference is made (3 Sept., 1722,) to the " Half
Glebe Acre, lying beyond the Ferry."
Phillip Sansom, Esq., obtained (6 Oct., 1800,)
the Vestry's approval of his proposal ** to add 30 feet
in width to his Fore court, by giving the road an easy
turn from the Green Man to the pond at the end of
his premises, provided a sufficient footpath be pre-
40 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
served without side of Mr. Sansom's garden wall."
This item is interesting in connection with the pur-
chase, some 32 years later from the trustees of Miss
Sansom (probably his daughter) of the ground upon
which St. John Baptist Church now stands.
Another book of extracts from the Register, from
1649 to 1774, with memoranda evidently made later
on, for Mr. Harvey, when he was churchwarden, con-
tains much interesting matter in a condensed form,
portions of which may appropriately now be quoted :
Quotations fnom the Register and
accompanying Memoranda.
Commonwealth— Cromwell ** Lord Protector."
1653 — P3,id for setting up the large States Arms, . . 25s.
For the lesser 20s.
The Restoration.
1659 — Paid for the King's Arms and frame .. £j 2s.
1662 — For mending y^ King's Arms . , . . 8s. 06.
The Great Plague.
1665 — ^The Distemper was at Leyton.
1676— Whole charge of the Poor this year £^1 17. Rate
at 4d. amounted to £i^ 19s.
1689 — Collection for the Irish Protestants fled into Eng-
land, ;^58 4s. 8d.
1689 — Collection for the Protestants of Savoy fled into
Switzerland (erased).
1690— Agreed that a Watch House shall be reared at the
Stocks, towards ^ Aldermn Tench hath pro-
mised 2,000 bricks.
1692 — A Collection for redemption of Captives in Algiers
and Sally, ;^ 7 iis. lod.
1693— A fine for cutting wood in Wallwood.
Death off Queen Mary* wiffe off William 111.
1694 — Putting the Pulpit in Mourning, £1 i6s.
1695 — Reed, of 2 for tipling and p.fane swearing, 14s. 04.
Queen Anne's Reij^n.
1708 — For a pair of new Stocks at Layton Stone, ;^3.
EXTRACTS, 41
1709 — £fio paid in purchase of a field at Leytonstone,
called Sraallgains (let on lease (1854) to Mr. Jno.
Wheen, at ;£i6 per annum).
Possibly referred to In Mr. Dunster's Letter, 1750.
1709 — 2oth November, Mr. Carter chosen Lecturer.
1709 — Fees for Burial in the Ch. according to antient
custom : a noble for a man or woman grown of
the p-ish, a mark for any from another p-ish, and
10 groats for one under ten yrs. old.
Date of Marlborough's Victory over the French at Malplaquet.
1709— Agreed to take two families of y poor Palatines
this winter, lying at present in Cold Tents on
Blackheath ; about the allowance of £$ per head
which the State has promised to give.
Frequent similar entries, one or two specially naming
Leytonstone.
1 7 18 — Snow to be Beadle for searching after inmates and
taking up vagrants, £$ per annum.
1724— Ord. for prosecuting the harbourers of inmates.
1732— Ord. that no hedgehogs or polecats be paid for.
South 5ea Bubble.
1740 — 100 S. S. Ann. to be purchased.
The Rebellion (see Mr. Dubordieu's Sermon on the Rebellion
in the Leyton Public Ubrary).
1746— A search for Papists.
1753 — Ord. for removing shuffle boards, skittle and bowl-
ing alleys.
The workhouse not to be a receptacle for the kept
mistresses of those who are able to maintain
them.
1756— Ord. touching vagrants lodging in outhouses, barns,
&c.
Ord : for reducing the number of alehouses.
Stocks and whipping post to be erected near the
"Lion and Key."
There are many notes of Inquests especially on persons drowned.
1746 — Inquest on Highwayman shot.
1773 (see also 1690 & 1708) — The Cage to be built on the
land on which the shop of Dav. Jones lately stood ;
the Stocks to be removed to the back of the Cage.
42
HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
High way Sf Bridges f EnclosureSf Increase
of Inhabitants, Ac.
1703— Abt. Hol)rwell Bridge.
1710— Ord. the parish officers to prosecute Will Brown, of
Walthamstow, for erecting a cottage near Knight's
[Qy. now " Knott's ") Green in Leyton, there being
not four acres, and warning given him to y*
contrary.
171 1— Agreed that the Ch-warden and constable go to
the Qu. Sess. to carry on a prosecution against
certain new cotages lately erected near Knight's,
the Wheelwright.
1753 — Antient inhabitants employed to find out the origi-
nal footway from Leyton St. to the Church. A
draught of the antient footway from Leyton St.
laid before the Vestry.
1758 — Enq. to be made after the original footpath from
Le3rton St. to the Church.
1759-— A motion that the business relating to a Church
footpath through Mr. Oliver's grounds be post-
poned. Proposal that a footpath be made by
Mr. Oliver.
1760— Enq. to be made abt. houses built on the waste at
Holywell Downe (Qy. now "HoUoway"). Three
houses built on the waste at Saul's Green, within
the Mr. of Ruckholts.
A kind of pposal. for repairg. the highway betwn.
the p shes. of L. & W. {Qy. " Wanstead").
1763— The additional churchyards, consecrated, £22 i8s.
1765— Mr. Ward, of Furnival's Inn, to draw up a case for
an opinion how the great increase of cottages
may be prevented.
1766 — Mr. Fowell applies to enclose, carried against it,
aff. 6, neg. 9. Nevertheless he does it. The Vsty.
threaten to pull down his wall. Determination to
pull down Mr. Powell's wall. He pays ;6loo.
A Fire Engine thought necessary.
MXTRACTB. 43
1767 — House for the Engine, Buckets.
1768— A committee to view the encroachments made upon
the path in the field leading to Leyton St. Chapl,
and Mr. Oliver is one. Notice to Mr. Pardee to
remove his enclosures at Hempstall's Green ; con-
sent that the enclosures remain. Leave to Thos.
Oliver, Esq., to stop up the Church path ^ leads
through his grounds, and to enclose the same.
1769 —Mr. Fowell's ;£ 100 in the name of nobody.
Composition to the new bridge too large.
Lands of Sr. Rob. Kite, Mr. Rigg and— Holebrooke
omitted in the rate.
1770— Orded. that Munday and Carter remove all obstruc-
tions on the side of the road so as to leave the
road 30 f. clear, and Munday to remove his tem-
porary buildg. set up for the reception of lodgers
otherwise they will bd p-ceced. ag** according
to law.
Two doz. of Bucketts £61^, Two pair of handcuffs
for the Constables.
Chupch PlatBf Fupnlturef &c.
1652 —Silver and gilt cup, with a river, wt. 20 oz. J.
A green cloth and a white one.
A pewter flagon.
1653— Benj. Brond: he left £$ to jT psh. ^- was Id. out
for change the old chalice for a great am. 1670.
165 g —For an hour gl. and gilding it and y« iron frame, lo.
1666— Pd. for a Flaggon, ids.
I670— Pd. for exch. of the Comm. cup, £^ 08.
1682— An hour glass, J glass, i6d.
1685— Tho. Nash, aColonal (undecipherable) delivd. to him
by Job, 6 May, 1685, a sil. cup and chalice and 3
books and a blk. cloth.
1688— Sir Will Hicks, Kt. and Bart., gives the large silver
Flaggon for the Comm.
44
HISTORY OF LETTOmiONE.
A few additional quotations not contained
In the two before^named books.
1659 — For money paid Goodman Mason to
give a poor woman that lay in the
streets 2 nights 5s. o
Benting Parish Bounds and several such entries.
1660— For a dinner for the gent : & bread & beer
for the boyes at the Green Man . , 218 o
The great Plague.— Two following similar items.
1665— Item paied the bearers and other charges
touching the burial of Richd. Narrington
dying of the distemper . . . • i 4 10
The Fire of London.
1666 — ^To monye given to severall that were in
distress after the fier, and that Mr. Cop
did recommend 140
Perambulation of the Parish.
1667 — The procession dinner flfbr the parish at the
Green Man was spent 5100
and a bottle of Sacke flfor me . . . . 20
1675 — ffor a sheet to wind up a traveller that dyed
at Scraggs house and buried at Layton 2 o
1683 — Paid for nursing Cromps great girl one
month 80
Paid for a pair of shooes and stockings for
the great girl . . • • . . . . 36
Paid Mr. Perry of Wanstead with Cromps'
great girl to be his apprentice . . ..300
Also in 1735;
1708 — For a new pare of stocks at laytonstone. * 3 o o
For 60 hedge hogs 100
Several such entries.
1 7 10 — Paid for a woman in fitts at Latenstone . . 6 6
171 7 — Paid for mending Mary Ponds shoes at
severall times . . . , . . . . 7
Deaths at the Bell and Plough & Harrow are also recorded.
1 7 18 — For getting a woman away that lay sick
at the Bell, Laytonstone . . . . 50
EXTRACTS,
45
Several sttch entries.
1720— Paid for one shirt for William Preston .. 6 6
Paid for 2 pairs of stockings for ditto . . 46
Paid for a peruke for ditto 36
Seven others relieved also later on.
1724 — Given to three poore slaves . . . . 16
1728 — Payd to carrying old Gutteridge to Church 4 o
1733 — Pd. Mr. Woods for burying a man from
the Watch House 156
Paid to a crew of sailors rescued from the
Algereins 50
1736— Expenses getting a poor woman out of the
Parish that was going to drown herself i o
1 740 — Beck Mitten to fetch hir stays out of pawn 3 6
1788— Joseph Norville, Churchyard Umbrella . . i 10 o
1792— For killing two mad dogs 10 o
Probably present Verger's ancestor.
1795 — ^Joseph Markby for two spring curtains
and repairing pulpit hanging . . ..1060
1814 — \ lb. of wax candles 22
These quotations which mainly relate to Leyton
as a whole, might be largely added to, but will pro-
bably amply meet the present purpose and if carried
further might become tedious; subsequent quota-
tions will therefore, have special relation to Leyton-
stone and the progress of the Church therein.
Leytonstone as a Village.
IT does not appear that, until the end of the reign
of George I., or early in that of George II., any
attempt at holding organised Church services was
made in Leytonstone, though the difficulty of attend-
ing those at Leyton Parish Church must have been
very great, even under the most favorable circum-
stances of weather. There was probably no direct
communication, except by field paths, until long after
^5 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
that time, as may be inferred from the fact that in
1737 it was desired by the inhabitants of Ley ton-
stone : " That a survey be made, by order of vestry,
of the antient footpaths leading from thence to the
church (Leyton), that the right of the antient foot-
paths be ascertained, that the inhabitants of Leyton-
stone may not lose their antient paths to the church."
Even well within the recollection of the present
writer, Fairlop Road was scarcely worthy of the
name of a road at all, being of a most primitive
char^ter, with a mere sprinkling of houses at the
Leytonstone end, and the rest only fields. Even the
main road from Stratford was at the same compara-
tively recent time simply a country road, having a
double row of trees, and bounded by hedges and
ditches, fields and market gardens, nearly throughout
its whole length, except where broken by fine old
mansions standing in extensive grounds, with here
and there a few small houses, cottages, turnpike
gates, and old inns, until the little village of Leyton-
stone was reached. The village itself, although it
contained many fine residences, mainly consisted
of old-fashioned wooden houses and cottages, with
wooden railings in front ; such, for instance, as those
already referred to, and the old " Red Lion " and its
contiguous cottages, which were not long since de-
molished to make way for the handsome row of
buildings which now replaces them.
Matters in the 17th, and even in the i8th centu-
ries, must have been very much more primitive ;
wheeled conveyance very scarce, horseback and walk-
ing practically the only means of communication.
Such roads as existed were quite unlighted, and foot-
pads and highwaymen by no means rare in these
parts.
Pepys, in his Diary ^ 28th February, 1689, com-
pares the way from Epping to a " kennel all the
way ;" he also gives the previously quoted amusing
and rather disparaging account of his dining with
Sir William Hickes, Ranger of the Forest, at his
country seat, ** Ruckholts " or " Rookwood," at Lay-
ton in Essex, where he entertained King Charles IL
after hunting (see reference to Royal Lodge). He
also writes of highwaymen at Holloway Down.
An extract from the Times of about 100 years
ago was recently quoted in one of the newspapers,
relating an attack by highwaymen at the High
Stone.
The parish register, 1746, contains a note (here-
inbefore quoted) concerning a coroner's inquest for
a highwayman shot.
There are many other notes as to highwaymen,
some who made their quarters at Snaresbrook, the
neighbourhood of Leytonstone, and in fact the whole
district for many miles around, seems to have been
in special favour with them, no doubt mainly in con-
sequence of the contiguity of the Forest, and the
comparative security of the hiding places which the
miles upon miles of its dense woods so readily
afforded.
The notorious Dick Turpin was well known in
the district (some of his relatives are said to have
been inhabitants of Chigwell, the name even now
occurs there), and he is said to have made constant
use of "Turpin's Cave," at High Beach, near
Loughton.
The following is quoted by the Leytonstone
Express and Independenty in 1902 : —
48 HJSTOR Y OF LE YT0NS70NE,
FOR THE CAPTURE OF EVIL DOERS:
<* The following is the text of another hundred year old handbill which
will be read with interest by residents in this neighbourhood.
HOUSEBREAKING, &c.
Whereas a Subscription has been entered into by
the Gentlemen residing in the Parishes of Waltham-
stoWf Leyton^ JFcmstead, and TFoodford, in the County
of Essex J for paying Rewards for the apprehending
Persons who shall be guilty of Bwrglaries^ Highway
Bobberies^ aud other Felonies^ within any of the
said Parishes.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,
That the following REWARDS will be paid by the
Treasurer of the Subscription^ viz.
For apprehending every person who shall break into
the Dwelling-house of any Subscriber, within any
of the Four above-mentioned Parishes TWENTY POUNDS.
For apprehending every Highwayman, Footpad or
other Person, who shall commit any Robbery on
the Highway, or shall feloniously stop, with an
Intent to rob, any Person or Persons within any
of the said Parishes TWELVE POUNDS.
For apprehending any Person who shall steal any
Horse, Mare, Chit, Sheep, Cattle, or other Matter
or Thing of the Value of Twenty Shillings, being
the property of a Subscriber, from any part of
his or her Premises, or from any Forest or Com-
mon within any of the said Four Parishes SIX POUNDS.
For apprehending every Person who shall commit any
Theft or Robbeiy on the Premises of any Sub-
scriber, within any of the said Four Puishes,
being of less Value than Twenty Shillings ; or
shall steal any FRUIT, POULTRY, LINEN,
TOOLS, LEAD, IRON, GLASS, GATES or GATE
HINGES, PALES or FENCES, the property of a
Subscriber, within any of the said Four P&rishes FORTY SHILLINGS.
The whole of this last Reward to be paid on Commitment of the Offender
to Gaol ; and One third of the other Rewards to be paid on Com-
mitment, and Two-thirds on Conyiotion. And farther, that all
Ezpenoes attending the Prosecution of anj Persons guilty of any
of the Offences above described, will be paid out of this Subscrip-
tion, not exceeding Three Pounds for each Person prosecuted ; in
all cases where the Expenoes shall not be allowed by the County.
Application, for the Recovery of Rewards, to be made to Mr Josbph
Mabkbt, of Leytonstone, Collar maker, High Constable of the Hun-
dred of Beoontree.
First Cburcb In Leytoastone, now the "Assembly Rooms,
Church of St. John Baptist, when first built (from an old En-^raving).
STATISTICS.
49
The following statistics aptly illustrate the phe-
nomenal rapidity with which Leyton and Leyton-
stone (the total population of which, about the time
of building St. John's, was about 3,400, and the total
rateable value in 1825 appears to have been con-
siderably under ;f8,ooo) have developed, until their
joint population cannot now be less than 120,000,
probably more : —
Jonrr Fofuiation. No.
180I - -
2,519
181I - -
3,162
182I - -
3,374
183I - -
3,323
184I - -
3,274
185I - -
3,901
1861 - -
4,794
1871 - -
10,394
1881 - -
27,068
189I -
63,106
I90I -
98,912
Rateable Value. £
1873 . - 50,390
1881 - - 125,000
1885 . - 160,398
1889 - - 209,946
1894 - . 243,963
1903 (estimated) 416,880
It will thus be seen that, although during con-
siderably more than the first half of the 19th century
the increase of population was very slow, in fact, for
many years at a standstill, a wonderfully rapid
change then took place, and during the last thirty
years the population increased nearly ten times, and
the rateable value in nearly the same proportion ; in
fact, during the century the population became forty
times as large as that with which the century began,
and the rateable value increased in a very much
greater proportion even than that. Houses are still
being built at the rate of about 1,000 annually.
£
^ -^sus^
HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE,
It may be noted that at a still earlier period,
viz., in 1775, the parish of Ley ton was " assessed,
rated and taxed by the churchwardens and inhabi-
tants," and for this purpose was divided as follows: —
^^^- District.
1,004 - In the vil. of Leyton -
186 - Capport {qy. Capworth) Street
606 - From Le Marke to Felybrigges
{qy. Fillebrook) and Ruckholt
1,313 - The Hamlet of Leytonstone - 21
463 - The Forest - - -
162 - Knott^s Green - -
35 - Knight's Green - -
75 - Out Dwellers - -
ASSKSSICKNT.
£ s. d.
16 14 8
3
2
10
2
21
17
8
7
14
4
2
14
II
8
I
• 5
CHAPTER IV.
Early Church Services
In Leytonstone.
Extracts from original documents and letters giving detailed infor-
mation as to the persistent steps taken to establish Services —
The great opposition and difficulties encountered — The ultimate
success of the undertaking, and the building of the little Chapel
and its subsequent enlargement.
I HE first distinct notice of a movement
towards holding Divine Service in a special
building in Leytonstone may be gathered
from an extensive series of letters and
papers commencing about 1748. There is a copy of
a letter unsigned and undated, but evidently from
Rev. — Dubordieu, Vicar of Leyton, to Mr. Gansell
(who built the splendid mansion, The Grange, in
Leyton, now demolished), his patron, and the then
possessor of two-thirds of the Manor of Leyton,
stating that eight or nine months before, Mr. Dun-
ster and Mr. Lewis (**who now possesses the Ows-
ley's estate," viz., Walwood,) had called upon him
and laid before him a project for such a building and
service, and that warm arguments had resulted. He
had told them that he considered ''there could be
no occasion for such a chapel where the gentry all
kept coaches, and where the tradesmen, farmers and
£ 2
52 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE,
servants were none of them more than a mile-and-a-
half from the Church," that Walthamstow and West
Ham are more populous and yet are contented with
the mother Church. He also expressed very strong
doubts as to the possibility of properly securing
Vicar's dues, Easter offerings, and paying outgoings.
These were evidently special points, other objections
were stated, ** The debate grew warm on both sides,
and at last Mr. Dunster said that * neither Bishop,
Patron, nor Vicar, could hinder their building a
meeting.' I confess this struck me the more because
three of the capital houses at Leyton Stone are
inhabited by dissenters or persons leaning that way ;
viz., Mr. Watson, a rigid Presbyterian, in the house
late Mrs. Smith's; Mr. Loubier, a French merchant,
late Mr. Dunster's, who has gone into Mr. Bosan-
quet's house in the lane, and Mr. Meighin, a Dutch
merchant, late Mr. Cooke's" (probably Park House).
The letter is full of apologies for not previously de-
tailing the foregoing to Mr. Gansell (clearly there
must have been strong previous discussions and ob-
jections), and he states, " I never believed this project
could ever be brought to bear — it appeared to me
impossible to raise money even sufficient for the
fabric, among the few families that are able to con-
tribute in Leytonstone, and I know that none on this
side of the parish would give a farthing ; neither was
I singular in this opinion, everybody that spoke of it
treated it as a wild, impracticable scheme that would
come to nothing. I continued in this delusion till I
read in the papers that the foundation was laid." He
concludes a very long letter with, " therefore I hope
that you will abate somewhat of your resentment
and have kinder thoughts of, yours, &c.'' The inten-
sity of Mr. GanselPs bitter opposition is further
PROPOSED CHAPEL, ^^
shown by a letter from Mr. Dubordieu (1748-9)
apparently to Mr. Dunster, in which he says, * it is
true Mr. Gansell has, for having been as he thought
too favourable to you, used me in a manner which
may be thought to cancell all obligations ; but
though I owed him no obligations, yet I owe so
much to myself as not to act a part that must make
me the horror of heaven and earth. To be short,
I have hitherto observed an exact neutrality between
you and my patron, and it is my firm purpose to
continue to do so."
In spite, however, of the violent opposition of
Mr. Gansell, and apparently to some extent that of
the Vicar also, Mr. Dunster and his friends per-
sistently pressed forward to eventual success.
A letter was written by Mr, Dunster to Mr.
Humberston (31st August, 1748), " making proposals
for the erection of a chapel in the village of Ley ton-
stone, during the time when Rev. — Dubordieu was
Vicar of Ley ton," on the plea that *' the inhabitants
in general find it verj^ inconvenient, and many utterly
impossible, for them to resort thither (Ley ton), at
least, so frequently as they ought for ye public wor-
ship of God." " Several well-disposed persons have
long wished that a chapel for the performance of
Divine Worship was erected in or near the same."
He also stated that certain influential inhabitants
agreed to subscribe towards that object, on condition
that the Vicar and his successors provided an officia-
ting minister, and that a reasonable stipend be paid
for that service, to be raised by pew rents and other
means ; that it should be in the hands of five of the
principal inhabitants, as trustees, to be nominated ;
vacancies in the Trust to be from time to time filled
up by seatholders, and contributors to the amount of
54 HI8T0RT OF LEYTONBTONB.
20/- per annum. He further writes, *' if the affair is
put in execution it swill be to the benefit of the Vicar,
who is to supply the chapel upon a stipend to be
settled, proportionable at least to ye additional attend-
ance. Mr. Dubordieu, before we set forward, was
shew'd the contents of the writing, to which he made
no objection.''
No opposition was allowed to deter the carrying
out of the project, and Deodatus Staverton agreed
(8th June, 1748) with David Lewis ''to let his interest
in a piece of ground, part of the premises held by
him of the Poor of Bourne, intended for building
a chapel in Layton Stone, at the same rate as the
trustees of the said Poor of Bourne shall agree to
let the same."
There is also a Minute referring to a lease made
22nd July, 1748, ''between Thos. TroUope, of Bourne,
in the Co. of Lincoln, and Robt. Hotchkin, of the
first part ; and the Rev. Wm. t)odd, Messrs. Wm.
Dunster, Dd. Lewis, Saml. Bosanquet, and Jas.
Henshaw, of a certain piece of land containing
i rood, 6 yards and 5 feet, whereon was to be built
or erected a chapel for the performance of Divine
Service at Leytonstone, and for no other use, from
the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, in the year
1758, for the term of 99 years, for the yearly rent
of 5s."
The little chapel was built and ready for use by
26th April, 1749, but evidently the Vicar still would
take no part in holding services therein, as is shown
by a letter from Mr. Dunster to him, in which he
says, " as you and the Rev. Capon have declined
performing any duty in the chapel at Leytonstone,
the subscribers pray your permission that Divine
Service may be performed therein, when we can be
PROPOSED CHAPEL, 55
SO happy as to have at least the appearance of re-
ligion among us." As the Vicar held aloof, service
was commenced by a Mr. Carter (possibly the lec-
turer named in the Parish Register, 1709), but the
mode of his appointment is not clear, though the
tacit acquiescence of the Vicar may be inferred from
a paragraph in another letter ; but the arrangement
was still violently opposed by Mr. Gansell, as is evi-
denced by a letter (gth September, 1750,) from Mr.
Dunster to the Vicar, stating that citation had been
issued by the Proctor against Mr. Carter, at the in-
stigation of Mr. Gansell, for officiating in an un-
licensed chapel, service having been performed for
sixteen months, from July, 1749, and fully attended,
*' many that before made no difference of Sunday "
attending. *' We have passed 2 Sundays without
Divine service, my horses, as well as my neighbours',
being sick, I could not get to Ley ton."
It clearly appears that Mr. GanselPs oppositions
temporarily succeeded, as service had evidently not
been resumed to this date (29th November, 1750).
[See letter from Mr. Dunster 'to the Vicar. ^ Mr. Dun-
ster having interviewed the Bishop of London, cer-
tain proposals were made, and apparently approved,
as to a person being appointed by the Vicar and
licensed by the Bishop ; but it would appear from
other sources that service was not resumed till 1754.
There is, however, in the Leyton Public Library,
a copy of a sermon ''preached in Lay ton Stone
Chapel, 1st Sept., 1754, being the Sunday after the in-
terment of Mrs. Ann Dunster, by Wm. Totton, M.A.,
a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. — London :
printed by White & Lewis in Birchin Lane, Lom-
bard Street, 1754.'' It is inscribed to "my much
honoured friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bosanquet, Miss
j^ HISTOR y OF LR YT0NS70NE,
Bosanquets, and Miss Jacksons, with all respect and
gratitude." The preacher also refers to the recent
death of Mr. Dunster; therefore, services had evi-
dently recommenced, and, so far as can be gathered,
they were then continued uninterruptedly, and with
increased prosperity.
On 26th February, 18 16, a meeting was called
to make " some arrangements to provide a residence
among us of a respectable clergyman ;" and there
being only one surviving trustee, Mr. Lear, a com-
mittee wais appointed, consisting of Messrs. Cotton,
Davis, Bosanquet, Old, and Mason, to obtain Mr.
Lear's concurrence in calling a meeting of pew-
renters in the Chapel for the purpose of appointing
trustees to fill up the four vacancies in the chapel
trust. The meeting of pew-renters was held 17th
March, 18 16, and Messrs. Bosanquet, Old, Coope,
and Davis unanimously appointed ; the Vicar, Mr.
Laprimaudaye, having previously advised that the
original deed expressed that every person paying
20S. per annum was competent to elect.
At a meeting of trustees (20th March, 1816), a
deficit in chapel accounts, oi£'iS 13s. 8d., was wiped
out by the Treasurer, Mr. Bosanquet, and a grant of
£21 made to Rev. C. H. Laprimaudaye, for the ser-
vices of himself and curate.
At a meeting of the trustees (30th May, 18 18),
questions as to the enlargement of the chapel, and
having the sacrament administered, were discussed,
evidently after being previously submitted to Mr.
John Pardoe, in whom the advowson of Leyton was
vested. In explanation, it may be noted that one-
third of the Manor of Leyton was sold, in 1703,
to David Gansell, Esq., who, in 1709, purchased
another one-third, leaving both to his heirs, who, in
ENLARGEMMNT OF THE CHAPEL, ^j
1783, sold them to John Pardoe, Esq., one' of the
directors of the Honble. East India Company/and
in 1794 he purchased the other share. Thus, in
181 1, the whole manor descended to his grandson,
the above-named Mr. John Pardoe, and at that date
the advowson was vested in him solely. [In 1800, he
instituted Rev. Mr. Laprimaudaye to the living of
Leyton.] His descendant, Rev. John Pardoe, Rec-
tor of Graveley, who probably officiated at St. John's
during 184 1-4, died in 1892, leaving an eleven-year-
old son, who is the present Lord of the Manor.
Mr. Pardoe (5 July, 1818,) wrote Mr. Laprimau-
daye witholding his consent, but stating some con-
ditions under which he might probably consent
This letter was read at a meeting of trustees (9 Aug.,
18 1 8), whereupon certain proposals were formu-
lated for putting the chapel arrangements on a better
footing without interfering with the position of the
patron and Vicar, these resolutions were forwarded to
Mr. Pardoe. At a further meeting (18 Oct., 1818,)
various propositions based upon the foregoing and
the patron's suggested conditions were discussed, but
one of the questions which had been raised, viz., as
to the purchase of the freehold, was deferred for fu-
ture consideration as the lease would not expire until
1858. It was agreed that the chapel should be so
enlarged and additions made to the seating accom-
modation and consequent income as to produce a
stipend to the minister of not less than ;^I20, casual
repairs to be effected out of the annual receipts cal-
culated at ;^i6o, extraordinary repairs to be provided
for by the pew-renters.
An important meeting attended by the Arch-
deacon, Patron, Vicar and trustees was held at
Leyton Vicarage, 8 Dec, 1818, when the necessity Jor
gg HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE,
the proposed enlargement and permission for admin-
istration of Sacrament was strongly urged by the
trustees, and after many points, ecclesiastical and
otherwise, were fully discussed, the Archdeacon
promised to lay the whole question before the Bishop,
and to advocate his consenting to the views of the
Trustees being acted upon. During the discussion it
was urged that the building had been used with great
advantage as a Chapel of Ease for upwards of 50
years, that the steps now advocated were urgently
needed to provide against the deficiency of room in
Leyton Parish Church, and the encouragement of
non-attendance and dissent due to its distance and
the difficulty of reaching it. The Archdeacon's
opinion, that it would not be regular to have the pro-
posed table in the Chapel without its being consecra-
ted, and that for that purpose it was necessary to
obtain the freehold, was met by the argument of want
of funds, and the fact of possession being vested in
the Parish of Bourn. The difficulties and objections
were evidently being gradually overcome, and at a
meeting of Trustees (23 Jan., 1819,) a subscription
list for the enlargement was opened, and ;^i44 los.
was subscribed in the room.
At a meeting of Trustees (13 March, 1819), Mr.
Bosanquet reported that the Vicar concurred in the
proposed alterations, Mr. Cotton, submitted sketch
plans of modifications and new buildings by which
130 additional seats for adults were provided, making
the total accommodation for 580, including children,
240 being free seats. Mr. Cotton offered the services
of his architect and all plans and superintendence
gratis, and his offer was gladly accepted.
It was announced that the Vicar (2 May, 1819.)
had received the Bishop's authorization to proceed,
RS-OPIBNING OF GHAPBL. j^
but expressing regret that the enlargement was not
carried to a greater extent ; it was reported that
plans had been submitted to the Bishop and the
Vicar, a subscription list amounting to about ;f 480
was read, and it was agreed to take steps for obtain-
ing tenders and to call in promised subscriptions.
The Trustees (10 May, 18 19), agreed that not less
than /300 should be invested in the public funds as
an endowment. Dr. Sampson (4 July, 1819,) was
named as having heretofore received 80 guineas per
annum, which recently was augumented by a collec-
tion of about ;f40 per annum. On a report (18 July,
1819,) that about ;f8oo had been paid in, it was agreed
to issue invitations to tender. (3 Aug., 18 19). The
Vicar's suggestion that the salary for the officiating
minister should be named in the deed at 120 guineas,
not /'120, was agreed to, and D. Fordham's tender,
;f826, was accepted, his account afterwards amounted
to ;f928 IIS. id. On 13 Dec, 1819, a meeting was
held to arrange the re-distribution of seats, and the
Chapel was re-opened, and divine service performed
both morning and evening by Rev. Dr. Sampson, on
23rd January, 1820.
(23 Feb., 1820). Dr. Sampson administered
the Sacrament for the first time in the Chapel to 35
communicants, the communion plate (silver) con-
sisted of a large flagon, two chalices, i large plate
and I paten (supposed to have originally belonged to
Queen Caroline's Chapel, the whole being the gift of
the late Mrs. Elizabeth Bosanquet).
The Chapel thus completed is the building now
known as the Assembly Rooms, situated on the
west side of the High Road, opposite what is now
Barclay Road.
6o HISTOR y OF LE YTONSTONB.
(31 July, 1820.) Robert Briscoe was elected
Trustee in place of Mr. Lear, deceased.
(28 July, 1823.) Wm. Cotton was elected
Trustee in place of R. Briscoe, deceased.
(10 Oct., 1828.) Trustees agreed to propositions
contained in a letter from the Bourne Charity Trus-
tees, re pulling down a wall, cancelling present lease,
and renewing for 21 years upon payment of a pre-
mium of ;f8o as a portion of fines hitherto paid by
the Bourne Charity, with a rent of £^ per annum for
the chapel, and an additional rent of £5 for the
school. In the course of a very few years, steps
were evidently taken to supersede the old building
by a permanent new one. There is little more of
interest to be extracted with regard to the old chapel,
except that at a later period (about 18 Feb., 1835),
the trustees appointed Messrs. Michael Charrington,
Jacob Sims and Thomas Brooks, to replace those
trustees, retired from the parish, in all matters re-
lating to the old chapel, two schools and appendages,
and that arrangements were in progress (30 May,
1835), ^^^ converting the chapel into schools, for
which permission was given in July, 1835, and erect-
ing two dwelling houses for master and mistress ; the
old schools and old coach house were proposed to be
removed.
There is in the wall of the first building a stone
bearing a long inscription in memory of Wm. Dunster,
*'the principal founder of the chapel" (dated 1749),
and Mary, his wife, and also naming Samuel Bosan-
quet ; but it is partly built in by the second portion
of the building, and is otherwise almost undecipher-
able.
A striking, and perhaps amusing, commeut on
the persevering effort, detailed in the foregoing is
CLOSE OF RECORD OF CHAPEL. g,
that, in advocating the proposed enlargement of
Leyton Parish Church, in 1822, " one of the oldest
inhabitants of Leyton " (doubtless Mr. Joseph Cot-
ton), quotes the exertions of Leytonstonians with
reference to their chapel, and offers a contribution
of £1,000.
This doses the record of the old building being
used as a chapel ; the new chapel, or, as we now
know it, the ** Church of St, John Baptist," having
meanwhile been erected and consecrated.
CHAPTER V.
The Church of St. John Baptist.
Commencement and Completion.
Subscriptions, Tenders for Building, modifications, Building and
Consecration of the original Church — Assignment of an Eccle-
siastical District Parish — ^and various minor items of informa-
tion.
JE now take up the history of the present
Church of St. John Baptist. A propo-
sition to supersede the old building by
erecting a new permanent 'Xhapel," with
contiguous burial ground, was, about 1829-30, taking
tangible shape. In July, 1830, the Vicar of Leyton,
Rev. C. H. Laprimaudaye, issued an address on the
subject, in which he says : " It has long been to me
a subject of deep regret, that there exists in a part
of this parish a lamentable deficiency in the means
of celebrating the public worship of Almighty God,
with that decency and solemnity with which such
services ought to be performed. It probably is not
known to all of you, that in consequence of its
having been erected on leasehold ground, the present
Chapel, though it has been licensed for Divine Ser-
vice by the Bishop, is not and cannot be consecrated
as a place of worship, agreeably to the canons of
BUILDING OP ST. J0HIP8. 53
our Established Church ;" but '* when I consider the
insecure and decaying condition of the edifice, the
want of devotional character in its appearance, and
the inadequate accommodation which it offers to the
labouring classes, I feel most earnestly desirous to
invite your attention to the subject." He also speaks
of the necessity of a building *' adequate to the
wants of a population of i,6oo souls, one half of the
parish." While asking for subscriptions, his address
stated that a site and :^i,ooo were already promised.
On 1st August, 1830, a committee was appointed
to solicit subscriptions ; and, at a meeting at Leyton
Vicarage (23rd October, 1830), a committee was
appointed to receive subscriptions and *' take such
measures as are necessary for carrying into complete
effect the proposed undertaking, by erecting the
Chapel." A subscription list was opened, and a
number of large amounts subscribed, including the
following : — Vicar of Leyton, Rev. C. H. Laprimau-
daye, ;^i5o; Mr. W. Cotton, ;^6oo; Mr. Davis, ;^6oo;
&c. A grant of ;^5oo was also afterwards made by
the Society for Promoting the Building of Churches
and Chapels ; and a voluntary rate for enclosing the
burial ground produced ;f3o8 12s. 6d. On the 30th
October of the same year, a subscription list was
published, amounting to ;^2,353 2s.
Dec, 1830. Mr. Blore, an eminent architect,
was consulted as to the intended building ; he pre-
pared plans which, after alteration and revision, were
decided upon.
Feb., 1831. Messrs. Curtis, Dean & Crow in-
vited to tender, but the tenders were so much above
the estimate, that they were referred back for modifi-
cation, particularly as to kind of materials and con-
struction of the tower. Satisfactory arrangements
64 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
were finally arrived at (3 May, 1832), and it was re-
solved to sign contract with Messrs. Curtis, imme-
diately on completion of conveyance of the land for
which Mr. Cotton, of Walwood, reported that he had
settled terms of purchase. The land consisted of
about two acres of a field, held copyhold by Miss
Sanson (evidently then insane) and is described in
the documents as bounded on the south by the turn-
pike road from London to Wanstead; S.W. by a
lane called Grove Green Lane or PuUin's Lane;
N.W. and N.E. by land belonging to Elizabeth
Sanson, spinster. After much negociation and the
overcoming of many difficulties as to title, &c., Mr.
Cotton finally purchased the ground, got Mr. Long
Wellesley, the Lord of the Manor to enfranchise it,
paid out of his own pocket the purchase money and
all fees, and conveyed it by deed to H.M. Com-
missioners for Church Building, &c. (16 June, 1832).
It may be mentioned here that at an earlier
date Mr. Davis had offered to give for the purpose a
plot of freehold land, but its position not being
considered eligible, the above-named negociations
were undertaken, and Mr. Davis later on apparently
presented the bells instead. The plot of land offered
by Mr. Davis (who then resided in the house now
known as ** The Pastures," situated in Davis's Lane,
which derives its name from him), was about the
same site as that on which the Wesleyan Chapel in
the High Road now stands, and he purposed making
a private path from his house to the church through
his own grounds.
The first stone was laid (20 July, 1832) by the
Vicar, the Rev. C. H. Laprimaudaye, assisted by the
Architect, tlje Curate of Leyton, the Curate of
Leytonstone, Rev. E. C. Birch, the Patron of the
MXTRACra. 5-
Living, the Churchwardens of Leyton, and a number
of subscribers and inhabitants, a special form of
service prepared by the Vicar being used. Messrs.
Davis and Cotton were at the same time requested
to sign the contract with Messrs. Curtis; and the
workmen made a subscription among themselves
towards the cost.
19 Dec, 1832. Architect submitted to Commit-
tee drawings of proposed gates and iron coping, also
sketch of proposed terrace. Two instalments of ;f8oo
each were reported as paid to contractors, and the
Committee resolved (20 July, 1833,) that the building
of the wall to enclose the proposed burial ground be
proceeded with, and paid for out of the general
subscriptions.
2 Sept., 1833. The Committee resolved that
the inhabitants of Leytonstone be now informed
that the pews may now be selected according to
amount of donations and length of residence in the
village, and the collector was authorised to receive
half a year's rents. Rev. C. H. Laprimaudaye named
Mr. Davis as his chapelwarden.
The new chapel and burial ground were conse-
crated and dedicated by the Bishop of London, Dr.
Blomfield (31 Oct., 1833) ; " the Vicar of Leyton,
Rev. C. H. Laprimaudaye, Messrs. W. Hall and Saml.
Edenborough, Churchwardens of Leyton, Mr. Jno.
Pardoe, Patron, Messrs. Wm. Cotton, Wm. Davis
and divers others, parishioners of the said parish,
conducting him in the vestry room of the said
Chapel, which was stated to have been erected by
voluntary subscriptions of the inhabitants and others,
aided by a donation from the Incorporated Society
for promoting the enlargement, building and repairing
of Churches and Chapels, and with the consent of
66 HiaTOBT OF LfYTO^STONIS.
the said Commissioners." The enclosure of jtjie
ground by brick walls and iron railings was at the
time well forward, and appears to have been completed
about the end of that year. The churchyard front-
age was altered just seventy years afterwards. The
cost of the chapel (church) apart from gifts, was
£4,710 128. 8d,, and the cost of enclosing, levelling
and making up the burial ground was ;^905 3s. 6d.
The body of the building as then completed was
about the same as at present, up to the line of the
east wall ; but the three eastern arches were much
smaller, the organ and the choir seats were all in the
body of the church, the pews were in the old style
enclosed with doors, the chancel was so small that it
only contained the communion table and a couple of
clergy chairs, and the vestry was also extremely small ;
but no doubt the church as it then was, provided
ample accommodation for the still by no means large
village congregation, in considerable proportion con-
sisting of persons of good standing, inhabitants of
the many surfounding fine mansions.
Little could those who with so much care pro-
vided the first permanent Church — and still less those
whose earnest persistence in face of continual oppo-
sition and unlooked for difficulty, resulting at last in
the successful inauguration of the small beginnings
of the work — at all realise in imagination its later
development in the overflowing congregations which
week by week crowd the still further enlarged church,
as well as its daughter churches.
The sparseness of the population at the time,
and its extremely rapid increase may be readily
gathered from a return on a printed form, apparently
made when applying for the Church Commissioners*
Grant, in which occur the following entries : "Parish
A88I0NMENT OF PARISH. 5 j
of St. Mar}', Leyton, Essex, diocese London, popu-
lation at last census 3,374, including the Hamlet of
Leytonstone, which has never been considered as
forming a separate division.
The chapel about to be consecrated will have
accommodation for about 600 ; income to the minis-
ter of the (Leyton) Church, vicarial dues, &c. , under
;f40o per annum ; repairs done by the parish. In-
come to minister of ** Chapel" ;^I26, arising from pew
rents calculated at £189 per annum ; repairs proposed
from surplus pew rents (no mention is made as to
how any other expenses are to be met). According to
the new arrangement there will be population of 1,778
within i^ miles of the church (Leyton) and a popu-
lation of 1,596 within a mile of the chapel- Marriages,
baptisms and burials performed at the church,
baptisms and burials proposed to be performed at
the chapel."
Assignment of an Ecclesiastical
District Parish.
SERVICE was no doubt held in the new building
as being only a Chapel of Ease to Leyton, until,
at the Court of Buckingham Palace (3rd Feb., 1845),
St. John Baptist, Leytonstone, had an ecclesiastical
parish assigned, as announced in the London Gazette^
of nth Feb., 1845. According to minutes of the
Vestry Meeting, 25th May, 1854, the District
Parish thus assigned, consisted of ** That portion of
the parish (Leyton) to the south-east of Walthamstow
to the east of the brook running across the parish
and Green Grove Lane, and to the north-east of
Union Lane." This has since been more than once
modified to meet altered circumstances. Later,
28th April, 1848, there was a notification from the
F 2
5g HiaWR'f OF LSTTONSTONS.
Bishop of the death of the Incumbent of Leyton,
apparently sanctioning banns, marriages, baptisms,
burials and churchings, from that time as a separate
parish.
par0Ona0C. — a movement to raise funds for
building a parsonage was set on foot in 1844, a dona-
tion of ;^ioo from the Barking Church Union, and
one of £200 from Queen Anne s Bounty were pro-
mised on certain conditions; but there is little in-
formation as to the movement until at a meeting of
the subscribers (28th Feb., 1856), it was resolved
that " the land purchased for the site be forthwith
fenced off and enfranchised, and the building of the
house by contract be proceeded with, under the
superintendence of Mr. Hawkins', architect." Rev.
H. H. Evans, Mr. Cotton, and the churchwardens —
Messrs. Harvey and Buxton were appointed as a
Committee, and the house was at once built (contract
price ;^i»355) and continued in use until 1894, when
it was sold, and a new and more commodious vicarage
built facing the Bushwood.
Until about 1887, when projects for restoration
and enlargement of St. John's begun to take shape,
there is little to record respecting the building except-
ing that one of the pinnacles of the tower was des-
troyed by a terrible storm, and a considerable amount
of damage done to the roof, &c. The interest in the
matter was so universal, that within a very few days
the sum required for repairs was raised, noncon-
formists kindly and substantially contributing.
In 1857, gas was first introduced into Leyton-
stone, the church was the second building in the
village to be so lighted, the " Red Lion " being the
first. Electric Light was first installed in the Bor-
ough on the 8th Sept., 1898.
CHURCHWABDBN BBNBFACT0B8, 5q
The clock in front of the gallery was* presented
by Mr. Dicker, when he was churchwarden ; it was
shortly afterwards stolen, and the thief unknowingly
took it to the premises of the donor and attempted
to sell it. One of the employes, however, at once re-
cognised the clock and the thief was detained and
punished.
At a Harvest Festival (23rd Oct., 1875), the
choir wore surplices for the first time.
31 Oct, 1883. Exactly 50 years after the date
of consecration by Dr. Blomfield, then Bishop of
London, a special Jubilee Service was held in the
evening, when the sermon was preached by his son,
the Right Rev. Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of Colchester.
An Order in Council was issued (9 Sept., 1884,)
to discontinue burials in the churchyard, except in
graves, vaults and walled graves now existing, and
under certain specified conditions and stringent rules.
During the last Ordnance Survey, a temporary
building was erected on the top of the tower of St.
John's, and utilized as a special station.
The names of several of the gentlemen who
were prominently engaged in matters hereinbefore
detailed occur in the list of the Churchwardens of
Ley ton, viz. : —
Mr. Wm. Dunster was Churchwarden, 1733-4
11
9»
Samuel Bosanquet
1742-3
John Coope
1816-17
William Davis
1818-IQ
John Alfonso Doxat
1821-2
Benjamin Cotton
1839-40
Nicholas Charrington
1844
Edward Charrington
1856-7
CHAPTER VI.
The Church of St. John Baptist.
Alienations and Enlargement.
Details to present date — Particulars of Gifts, Fittings, Bells, Clock,
Organ, &c. — Lists of officiating Clergy and Churchwardens —
Alterations of Frontages — Coronation Memorial Tree planting —
New Vestry — Elliott Room — Charities and Bequests.
JELL into the nineteenth century, the vil-
lage saw scarcely any change. A 2s.
coach went twice daily from the ** Green
Man " to Aldgate ; there was a single
letter-box in one of the shops, with two daily de-
liveries ; and a carrier's cart ran once daily, returning
the same day. This seems to exhaust the list of
public means of communication until the coming of
the Great Eastern Railway, in 1853, but even in
1858 there were only eight trains per day each way.
The High Road was still a thorough country road,
and even until within the last few years it was ill-
lighted and quite unpaved ; other roads scarcely ex-
isted at all. But, slowly at first, a change began, a
very gradual exodus took place of the old families
i!ih:IMjEif^}it OF dt joHirs. 71
mhibfrtin^ tHei mansions around — such as those of
Mfesistrs. Cotton, Bdxton, Barclay, Dunster, Bosan-
<juet, Davis, Harvey, Innes, Morgan, Charrington,
Elliott,^ Clayton, Burness, Drake, Doxat, &c.
Most pf the large houses were pulled down or
converted to other uses, smaller houses, shops, &c.,
sprung up more and more rapidly, with an immensely
increased population, showing the urgent necessity
for much enlarged church accommodation — though
unfortunately the loss of the old supporters of the
church operations possessing ample means could not
be fully compensated for by the new comers.
Projects for the enlargement of St. John's were
from time to time discussed even in 1873, and plans
by S^arious architects (Messrs. Blomfield, Belcher,
and bthers) were submitted, none appearing at all
satisfactory ; also the collecting for and building of
other churches in the district stood in the way of
much progress ; but, in 1887, a sketch plan was sub-
mitted by Mr. Hammock, which met with very
general approval, and Mr. Home (architect) was
requested to prepare a sketch plan and rough esti-
mate based on that scheme. The estimated cost,
combined with that for absolutely necessary restora-
tions, was so high that little further progress was
made until October, 1890, when a modified, reduced,
and less costly plan was submitted by Mr. Hammock,
based on ideas formulated by the Vicar and himself,
and was unanimously adopted, and Mr. Ashbridge
(succeeded by Mr. Adams) was appointed architect
to carry out the scheme.
Meanwhile, as a Pew Rent Trust Fund, insti-
tuted soon after the church was built but found im-
practicable, had long lain utterly dormant and useless,
though frequently discussed, steps were taken in 1^
J 2 HISTORY OF LBY70NST0NB.
Chancery, with a view to utilising it towards the cost
of enlargement. However, it was only in February,
1892, after great expense and trouble, that the
many difficulties were overcome, and the application
granted- A committee, of which D. J. Morgan,
Esq., J. P., was chairman, Messrs. S. Harmer and
F. Finch were treasurers, and Mr. W. G. Hammock
secretary, was at once appointed to carry out the
work, plans and ^specifications were ordered ; but, as
the Committee's report states : —
" It was not until March, 1892, that the plans
were finally approved ; and only in April, 1893, were
sufficient funds in hand to warrant signing the con-
tract and proceeding with the work. This consisted
of the building of a good chancel, superseding the
original extremely small sacrarium, and affi^rding, in
addition to the clergy stalls, ample accommodation
for the whole of the choir (which, with the organ,
previously occupied a very considerable portion of
the bpdy of the church), a choir vestry, with a
number of fittings and handsome glazed screen ; a
capacious organ chamber and well arranged manuals,
by which the organ and organist are kept clear of the
body of the church ; greatly enlarged and improved
arches at the east end of the church ; new cathedral
glass windows ; entirely new arrangement of seating
and new seats, giving about 140 additional free seats ;
new wood block flooring ; fitting new stone pulpit in
lieu of old wooden one ; additional ventilators ; new
gas fittings and heating apparatus ; chancel fittings
and curtains ; the entire re-decoration of the church,
and minor necessary alterations and repairs.
This was all most satisfactorily carried out by
Mr. Scott, of Walthamstow, under the careful and
able superintendence of the architect, Mr. P. H.
NEW VEaTBT. y^
Adams, and the Church re-opened and additions
consecrated by the Bishop of Colchester (Dr. Blom-
field) on 30th September, 1893.
It may here be mentioned that the additional
chancel buildings are all carefully planned, so that
at any future time a still further increase in the ac-
commodation can easily be made, with scarcely any
constructive disarrangement, by the building of a
south transept."
The total cost, exclusive of organ amounted to
;^2,395 15s- 5d. The seating accommodation, exclu-
sive of chancel, is about 630, and more than half are
free and unappropriated.
New Vestry.
IN 1893, at the time of building the new chancel,
the original very small vestry was to a certain
extent enlarged, but its accommodation for parish
meetings, weddings, &c., was still totally inadequate,
and a variety of plans for improvements were from
time to time produced and discussed. Complaints
as to its extreme inconvenience and unsuitability be-
coming more and more persistent, it was, in 1897,
determined to take further steps in the matter. A
committee was appointed, with Mr. Day as treasurer,
and Mr. T. A. Morris, secretary, an appeal for funds
was issued, and Mr. Adams, the architect who carried
out the previous enlargement of the church, was re-
quested to prepare estimates based upon one of the
plans. It was found, however, that the cost would
so greatly exceed expectations, that the plans were
modified and considerably reduced ; and application
for a faculty was authorized by a vestry meeting,
15th October, 1900. The room is commodious, and
well suited for its intended purposes, having separate
74 HISTORY OF lEYTONSTONB.
entrances from outside and from the original vestry,
which was left untouched ; it was completed early in
1902, at a cost of £2^^$ 14s, id.
Gifts, Fittings, Ornaments, &c.
TTbC 1D(Ilin2)OVO0* — The east windows were supplied
^^ to the order of Mr. Cotton, in 1841, by Wailes,
of Newcastle, and are early English in character
though rather glaring in colour. The two side por-
tions are adapted from windows in York Minster, as
are also parts of the centre portion, and the foliage
is adapted from an old window in a church near
Canterbury. There are five panels in the centre por-
tion relating to incidents in the life of St. John the
Baptist : —
Lower panel — St. John preaching in the wilderness.
2nd ,, — Sending his disciples to the Saviour.
3rd (centre) — Baptism of the Saviour in Jordan.
4th panel — Before Herod and Bernice.
5th „ — Conveying the Baptist's body for burial.
The three side windows in the chancel were pre-
sented in 1898, after the building of the new chancel,
by Messrs. S. E. and R. Harmer, sons of the then
churchwarden and members of the choir. They re-
present respectively David, the Virgin Mary, and
Group of Angels, and are all illustrative of praise.
They are very elaborate and delicate, and were sup-
plied by Powell Brothers, of Leeds.
In November, 1854, a pair of memorial windows,
illustrative of the Saviour's kind acts and the parable
of the Good Samaritan, were plated on the south
side of the church by parishioners and friends, in
memory of Wm. Davis (to whom many referlences
have pi*eviously herein been made). And in December,
1863, similar memorial window^ vifferfe jplalc'ed by
THE STONE PULPIT AND OTHER QTFT8. y^
parishioners and friends on the north side, in memory
of Rev. Herbert Evans, nineteen years incumbent of
Leytonstone, illustrative of the parables of the sower
and the Good Shepherd.
In the final report of the original Church Build-
ing Committee, 6th Dec, 1834, the following are
recorded as gifts, viz., the ground, bells, clock, organ,
velvet hangings, hassocks, stove, gravel, turf, &c., but
the foregoing particulars are all that are traceable as
to names of donors, &c., to the original building,
except that the wooden pulpit, reading desk and com-
munion furniture, were presented by Mrs. Morrison at
a cost of £t^.
When the restoration and enlargement were
carried out, a beautiful stone pulpit of white Caen
stone, relieved with small pillars of Mansfield stone,
which originally cost j^goo, designed by Sir A. Blom-
field, for St. John's Church, Wilton Road, and found
to be unsuitable for that church, was presented by
the authorities there to St. John's, Leytonstone, and
replaced the original wooden one, which was trans-
ferred to St. Alban's, Leytonstone, and the reading
desk to St. Augustine's. A new stone font was sub-
scribed for by children, and placed in position in
1893 ; it was afterwards carved and finished at the
cost of Mr. Finch, and its ornamental oak cover was
presented by the architect, Mr. Adams ; the carved
oak lectern was presented by Mr. Nichols ; alms dish
by Mr. Papworth ; cruets by Rev. H. Sergeant and
Mr. Horner; chancel gas standards by Rev. H.
Sergeant and former curates ; chancel kneeler by
Mrs. Bettison, Sen. ; two altar vases by Mrs. Harmer;
altar linen and alms bags by Mr. and Miss Finch ;
a new flag-staff by Mr. Lister ; sun blinds, chancel
curtains, lectern mat, bknners, prayer desk, &c., by
76
HISTORY OF LBYTONSTONB.
Messrs. Fretwell, Day, Veale, Hammock, &c. ; and
service books by Mrs. Burrows, Mrs. Hammock, and
Mrs. Harmer. Shortly afterwards, a very handsome
chancel railing was presented by Mr. S. P. Ashbridge,
and the three side windows previously named, by
Messrs. Harmer, Jun., and were dedicated by the
Bishop of Colchester, at a special service held on
1 2th February, 1898.
ZtbC 3Bcll0* The six bells were cast by the
very old-established firm of bellfounders, Mears, of
Whitechapel, and were named after ladies of the
Cotton and Davis families. They are as follows : —
Cwts. qrs.
Inscription on the
Tenor : —
" This belly with five
others to form a peal^ was
presented to the new Chapel
of Leytanstone^ by William
DaviSy Esq.y A.D. 1833."
(Note.— The first churchwarden).
They are the finest peal for miles around, and are
in the care of a very efficient Society of Bellringers.
They have just been re-hung, and the framework
which carries them repaired and strengthened.
A brass plate in the porch records that " In
memory of Victoria, R. & I. a fully muffled peal of
* surprise minor,' 5040 changes, was rung on the bells
of the tower, on January 24th, 1901, in 3 hr. 7 min.;
they were also rung for the memorial services."
ZtbC ClOCft is a very excellent one by VuUiamy,
a famous clockmaker of the period, honorary clock-
maker to the king, and author of excellent articles
on Horology, in Rees^ EncyclopcBdia— hut until recently
Agnes - - 5
3 I
Phoebe - - 6
6
Sarah - - - 6
3 13
Eliza - - - 7
I 10
Dorothy Anne g
3
Dorothy - - I2
3 23
Total - 48
2 25
ILLUMINATION OF CLOCK DIALS. jj
it had but one dial. It apparently, as well as the
bells, was presented by Mr. Davis, at a total cost of
over ;f8oo, and in December, 1899, Mr. T. F. Saun-
derson defrayed the entire cost of fitting it to chime
the quarters, in memory of his wife.
In 1897, a general parish subscription was made
(the Vicar and Councillor Chapman, J.P., being trea-
surers), to fit three electrically illuminated dials, in
commemoration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee Reign.
On 15th Sept., 1897, the electric light was for the
first time switched on to the dials by Lady Birt, in
presence of a crowded assemblage of thousands of
persons which more than filled the southern portion
of the churchyard and for a time stopped the street
traffic ; a short appropriate service, assisted by a
numerous choir, being held in the space opposite the
main porch. The light is switched on and ofi" auto-
matically by a separate special clock, fitted by Mr.
Webber, of Leytonstone, which is set weekly to suit
the varying length of daylight, and the current is
supplied gratis by the District Council as being a
public benefit.
ZtbC 0r0an4 The original organ was worked
by barrels, and was placed in the gallery, some of
the old barrels are still stored in the belfry. There
is an account in 1852-3, of £16 i6s., for putting a
new worm to the church organ, thoroughly cleaning
and tuning the same, and supplying a new barrel
containing eleven tunes.
It had at first only two barrels with eleven tunes
in each ; but there were eventually six, with a total
of 66 tunes. The first organist was a gardener, in
the employ of one of the lady pew-renters, his ideas
of time were decidedly hazy, but his zeal was un-
questionable ; that indeed so far outran discretion
78 HISTOR Y OF LE YTONSTONE,
that, it is said, he very frequently ground out the
tune, and started on a second verse long before the
congregation had succeded in struggling to the end
of the first one. It continued in use for about 36
years, when a new one with keys and a very few stops
was supplied by Messrs. Gray and Davison. It was
small, and was placed within the body of the church
at the south-east corner.
When the proposal for the enlargement of the
church took shape, it was in such bad condition, and
generally so unsuitable, that it was determined to
provide a really good organ, worthy of the altered
conditions. A strong committee was formed, and
through the indefatigable exertions of the organist,
Mr. E. C. Nunn (who became organist in March,
1889), Messrs. Fretwell, Rich, Harmer, and their
colleagues, who were unwearied in organizing musi-
cal performances, collections, &c., a sum of ^^594
was raised, and a beautiful new organ put in hand,
so as to be ready to be put in place when the in-
tended new chancel was completed. The building
of the organ was entrusted to Messrs. Brindley &
Foster, of Sheffield and London, who, although the
funds then available did not suffice to carry out all
that was contemplated, made it completely service-
able to fulfil usual requirements, and so constructed
it that when funds were available the original idea
could easily be carried out in its entirety. This has
since been done, the whole of the additional amount
required having, through the strenuous exertions of
the organ committee and the organist, Mr. E. C.
Nunn, been at last raised ; and the instrument is now
universally considered an exceptionally fine one. Its
total cost, from first to last, was ^^837 6s. 4d. , in-
cluding £y 1 8s. I id. for its enclosure in the choir
vestry.
HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
79
The ojrg^n js of t}iree manuals and pedals, and
34 stops, the whole of which, except the manuals and
their connections, are placed in an organ loft built
for their reception over the choir vestry when the new
chancel was erected, and the manuals are in a small
console within the choir vestry, so arranged that the
organist faces eastward, and is in close touch with
choir and chancel, all being at the same time entirely
clear of the body of the church.
It was opened in its unfinished state on 4th
January, 1894, and was completed by adding the
stops printed in italics^ and re-opened on November
23rd, 1902. The following is the specification : —
Great Organ (8 stops)
Open Diapason
Dulciana - - -
Claribel -
Principal -
Lieblich Flote -
Harmonic Piccolo
Dulcet Twelfth -
Trumpet -
Swell Organ (10 stops).
Lieblich Bourdon
Violin Diapason
Keraulophon
Rohr Gedact
Unda Maris
Harmonic Flute
Dulcet Mixture -
Oboe
Cornopean
Clarinet - -
Choir Organ (5 stops).
Dulciana - - - 8 ft.
Claribel - - - 8 „
Lieblich Ftote - - 4 «
Harmonic Piccolo - 2 „
Clarinet - - - 8 «
8 ft.
8 „
8 „
4 >>
4 »
2 „
2I „
8 „
16 ft.
- 8 „
- 8 „
- 8 „
- 8 „
- 4 »
ranks.
- 8 ft.
- 8 „
- 8 „
16 ft.
16 „
16 „
8 „
Pedal Organ (4 stops).
Open Diapason
Bourdon - - -
Echo Bourdon (fi-om
Sw.) -
Bass Flute
Couplers (7).
Swell to-Grreat.
Swell'tO'Choir.
Swell Octave.
Swell Sui-octave.
Grreat-to-Pedals.
Swell-to-Pedals.
Choir-tO'Pedals.
Accessories.
Two composition Pedals-to-
Great ; two to Swell.
Great - to - Pedal reversing
piston.
Tremulant-tO'Swell.
Balanced Swell Pedal.
Tubular pneumatic action
throughout.
8o
Alterations of Frontages.
ABOUT the middle of 1897, 'he Leyton District
Council, with a view to meeting the enormously
increased traffic, entered into negotiations as to the
possibility of widening and rounding off the south-
eastern end of Church Lane, by throwing back the
railings of the churchyard where no interments had
taken place. After a considerable time, and much
discussion, the carrying out of the proposition, at an
estimated cost of ^^450 for works and a payment of
;^6oo for the required strip of land, was approved by
the Highways and Lighting Committee of the Coun-
cil, and by an unanimous vote of a vestry meeting,
held in the vestry on 17th October, 1898. Applica-
tion was then made for the necessary faculty, which,
however, the Chancellor of the Diocese considered
he had no power to grant. This brought matters
somewhat to a standstill ; but, after much further
discussion and negotiation, the District Council, in
December, 1899, gave notice of their intention to
apply to the Local Government Board, for compul-
sory powers. A Government enquiry was held at
the Town Hall, but the Chancellor's scruples again
brought matters for a time to a deadlock. At last,
however, all difficulties were overcome without the
exercise of compulsory powers, the necessary faculty
was granted, and in April, 1902, the work of altering
the frontage was commenced.
The corner at the main entrance gates was set
back 8 feet, and the set back of frontage was then
tapered off to nothing along the side of Church
Lane, and to 4 feet 6 inches along High Road to the
corner of the churchyard. New foundations for the
railings were built somewhat higher than the old
ones, and the original railings were fixed upon them.
MmiOniAL TRSMB. 8 1
At the request of the District Council, part
of the old Fire-engine Station, which it was at first
intended to entirely clear away, was allowed to re-
main, and was by them adapted to contain their
electrical transformer, they agreeing to pay a nominal
rent for it, and to remove it altogether if called upon
to do so.
Coronation Memorial Tree Planting.
THE alterations of churchyard frontage involved,
greatly to the regret of many, the removal of
some old elms which bordered Church Lane. They
had, however, been for some time in a very doubtful
condition, large branches had broken off, lopping,
and even total removal of some, had once or twice
previously been necessary, and when the remainder
were removed for the alterations, it was found that
they were much more seriously decayed at the roots
than was expected, and that their removal probably
averted serious accidents.
In their stead, however, in the Coronation year
of King Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra, 43
memorial trees were subscribed for and planted by
the clergy, churchwardens, sidesmen and other church
officials and friends. One, representing the King,
being planted at the S.W. side of the main gates by
D. J. Morgan, Esq., M.P., a native of Leytonstone
and its Parliamentary representative, and that on
the S.E. side by Mrs. Morgan, representing the
Queen ; the bther trees were planted simultaneously
by the donors or their representatives along the east-
ern and southern frontages of the churchyard, and
across the western end of the church, a short out-
door service being meanwhile held, accompanied by
the singing of the National Anthem and hymns.
G
82 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
Expenditure of Frontage Purchase
Money.
IN the granting of the faculty authorizing the altera-
tion of the frontages, the building of a new
vestry, &c., a few stipulations were put forward
rightly restricting the expenditure of the ;^6oo pur-
chase money in a general way entirely upon the
church and its belongings and the buildings apper-
taining to it; and, in accordance therewith, payments
were made towards the cost of the new vestry, then
nearly completed, part towards the debt on the new
vicarage and that on the organ, repairs of stonework
of tower and other parts of the church, new fittings
and bearings for bells, and repairs of timber framing
carrying the bells, and re-hanging them, repairing
damages in the porch caused by the fall of the clock
weight and by damp, and it was found that sufficient
was in hand to complete interior repairs, which for
lack of funds could only be somewhat imperfectly
done at the time of the church restoration in 1893.
The ceilings were therefore again whitewashed, walls
painted where previously only coloured, all painted
work re-painted inside and out, the chancel walls
cleaned, and the lower portion elaborately decorated
and gilded, chancel railings also re-painted and
gilded, incandescent lights, with special arrange-
ments for varying the light fitted throughout the
body of the church, some new windows, re-placing
very defective ones, especially at the west end, and a
number of minor improvements, and by the exercise
of strict economy all the above-named expenditure
was provided for out of the fund.
CHANGES OF DIOCHSJS. 83
The Elliott Room.
THE old rooms in which the Church services were
originally held, and which, after the building of
St. John's were long utilized as schools and for other
parish purposes, having become very dilapidated, and
other difficulties having arisen as to tenure, Mrs.
Elliott, an old inhabitant, munificiently offered at
the suggestion of the vicar, to build new rooms in
another part of the parish, and devote them to Sun-
day school and other parish uses, under the trustee-
ship of the vicar and churchwardens, on condition
that they were not used for political purposes. The
offer was gladly accepted ; Mr. Home was appointed
architect, and the first stone was laid after a short
out-door service, on 15th September, 1885, by Miss
Moysey, the grand-daughter of the donor, who was
also present though extremely feeble, the building
being named after the donor. A soup kitchen, &c.,
have since been added. The main room accomo-
dates about 300.
The District,
at the time of the building of St. John's, was in
the diocese of London, but in consequence of the
enormously increased population it was transferred
to the Diocese of Rochester, and separated from
that of London. When the new diocese of St.
Albans was formed it became part of that diocese,
after which the suffragan Bishopric of Colchester was
formed, and finally that of Barking in 1901, to nieet
the still increasing wants of the immense population.
G 2
84 HISTORY OP LBYTONSTONE.
CurateS'ifi'Charge and Vicars of
St. Johns.
THE early record is by no means clear. A
Mr- Carter appears to have officiated in the
original chapel in 1750, also Rev. Wm. Totton in
1754, and Rev. John Whalley in 1797, and when
it was enlarged Rev. Dr. Sampson administered
the sacrament therein in 1820 to 35 communicants.
1832. — ^At the time of the la3ring of the first stone
of St. John's, Rev. E. C. Birch is named as curate
of Le3rtonstone, and his name occurs on the Build-
ing Committee, but it would appear doubtful
whether for some time there was any one person
distinctly appointed to the church, it was probably
served to a certain extent by the clergy of Leyton
generally.
1833-5. — Rev. Wm. Pitt Wigram's name most fre-
quently occurs ; Rev. C.J. Laprimaudaye, nephew
of the Vicar of Leyton, 1834-7 also in 1841-4 ;
and in 1837 the names of Simpson and Dickens
also occur.
1835-g. — Rev. Thos. Hubbard was apparently ap.
pointed curate-in-charge during this time.
1839-40. — Rev. N. B. Herring.
1841-4. — Rev. John Pardoe.
1844-63. — Rev. Herbert Evans (signed as "Perpetual
Curate," September, 1854). He was probably the
first vicar when a separate parish was assigned.
1864-70. — Rev. W. H. Vernon.
1870-74. — Rev. H. Waller, who preceded Mr. Betti-
son as vicar, was a companion of Dr. Livingstone
in his African exploration, and was visited at Ley-
PRSaENT VICAR OF 8T, J0HN*8, g^
tonstone by two of Dr. Livingstone's personal
native attendants, Tumah and Shumah, much to
the astonishment and delight of the village boys.
1874 to present date. — Rev. W. J. Bettison: —
The Rev. W. J. Bettison, the present Vicar,
having now held that office during a term not very
far short of half the whole existence of Leytonstone
as a separate ecclesiastical parish, cannot rightly
be passed over without a short special record. He
was educated at King's School, Canterbury, where
he obtained an exhibition as Parker's Scholar, he
afterwards went to Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge, and, after taking his degree, he acted as
tutor for two years to the present Duke of Sijitherland.
He was ordained a deacon in 1864, ^^cl a piiest
in the following year. His first curacy was at Hal-
stead, Essex, and afterwards he went to Newbury
and Ipswich. Four years after ordination he received
his first living, that of Harwich, which he retained
four years, and left to come to Leytonstone in 1874.
He has taken a prominent part in the establishment
of the daughter churches herein mentioned, and is
the author of many works, &c., principally published
by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ;
they are much admired and widely circulated. In
all the various undertakings for the good^ of the
parish during his long incumbency, much has been
due to his initiative and sustained efforts. On coming
to Leytonstone, he brought his young and newly
married bride, Margaret, the daughter of Dr. Arnot,
R.N. She was a native of Harwich, and was for
25 years his faithful helpmeet, and passed away at
the age of 45 years, in October, 1899. They had
four daughters and five sons, two of whom are
clergymen.
86
HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONB,
9
Churchwardens of St. John Baptist
from commencement.
1833 Wm. Davis; Wm. Cotton
4 Do. Do.
5 Do. N. Charrington
6 Do. J. Chadsey
7 Do. Golding
8 Do. J. Sims
9 Do. J. Maskell
1840 Do. B. Cotton
1 Do. — Delacour
2 Do. R. Payze
3 Do. T, Graig
4 Do. D. T. Morgan
5 Do. J. Whittingham
6 Do. S. Mackenzie
7 Do. J. Wheen
1848 Wm. Davis; C. Tebbut.
9 Do. J. Drake
1850 Do. — Bartrum
1 Do. C. Pennyfeather
2 Do. H. M. Harvey
3 Do. Do.
4 Do. Do.
5 H. Harvey ; T. F, Buxton
6 Do. A. Doxat
D. Cobbett; T. Womersley
Do. Do.
Do. J. T. T. Dipnall
Do.
Jno. Adams
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
7
8
9
i860
I
2
1863 D. Cobbett; Jno. Adams
4 W. Cotton ; F. Telfer
5 T. F. Buxton ; T. Knight
6 Jas. Burness ; L. Taylor
7 Do. — Collins
8 J. Dicker; P. Gold
1869 J. Dicker; W. D. Collins
1870
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1880
I
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
W. D. Collins ; Wrightson
Do. Do.
Do. — Barford
Do. Do.
Do. Do.
Do. Do.
2 — Barford; W. H. Allaway
3 Do. Do.
1884 Lowman; W. H. Allaway
5
6
7
8
9
1890
I
2
3
4
5
Do.
Allaway ;
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Cooper
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
S. Harmer
Do.
Do.
Do.
6 W. G. Hammock ; R.Nichols
7
8
9
1900
I
2
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
3 W. G. Parker; W.HoUings
4 Do. Do.
CHARITIE8 AND BEQUESTS, gj
Some Charities and Bequests to the
Parish of Ley ton in which Leytonstone
has a beneficial interest.
THE formation of Leytonstone into a District
Parish necessitated, in pursuance of the Church
Building Act, an apportionment of charities of
the old Parish of Leyton, between the district parish
of Leytonstone and the other part of the Parish of
Leyton remaining attached to the Parish Church.
It would appear that for a considerable time this
was not very systematically carried out, but early in
1854, energetic steps were taken to put the matter
on a satisfactory basis. Several vestry meetings,
both of the old and new parishes entered exhaustively
into the question, the respective churchwardens
closely investigated all the points connected with
it, and a definite apportionment was arrived at and
approved for the following bequests and charities : —
The Bread Fund, originated in 1704:
Annual Leytonslone
Income. Apportionmeut.
£ s, d. £ s. d.
16 00 Hicks* Charities (about 3 acres at
Harrow Green, of land in occupa-
tion of John Wheen [Smallgains) 7 i 2
I o o Archer's (lands at Coopersale nr.
Epping) yearly rent-charge o 810
39 o o Holbrook's (Marsh Street, Wal-
thamstow) 1742
100 Rampston's (Dunmow and LittU
CatUfield) o 8 10
16 10 o £ao Consols 7 5 4
Eight Almshouses (Smith's Charity with
88 BI8T0BT OF LMTT0N8T0NB.
added bequests), instituted about the middle of the
seventeenth century, rebuilt in 1886, now six houses:
The 2nd and Srd houses
from the west end of the
row are apportioned to
Leytonstone under the
nomination of the minis-
ter and churchwardens ;
the first house, next the
Church, alternate nomina-
tion of Leyton and Ley-
tonstone, but this has
sometimes been modified
to suit circumstances.
;£2oo Consols for repair of Almshouses.
Osier's Charity (afterwards National) S^hQiOls,
originated in 1697, rebuilt in 1846 on the original
site, cost ;^i,200. Seven presentations from Leyton
and seven from Walthamstow, of which two present-
ations were assigned to Leytonstone :
£ s. d.
800 Osier's Charity, annual rent
of a field in occupation of
Andrews.
12 o o Ditto Rent-charge on pre-
mises in occupation of
Pamplin.
600 ;£2oo Consols, gift of the late
— Bosanquet.
£
20
12
6
s.
d.
Hughes' Farm.
Bovill's Uplands.
House, Dover Street,
12
12
3
Piccadilly.
;^30o & ;£i20 9s. 8d.
Consols.
6
10
;^2oo 3|^/o Annuities.
9
£zoo 3 ^/^ Reduced
Annuities.
20
^£250 Bank Stock.
86
2
3
■
Towards
schoolmaster's
salary.
There having been at one time some doubt as
to the proper application of jf 58, rent of six cottages
in the Parish of Leyton, leased to Mr. Johnson, it
had been handed to the overseers to apply towards
poor rates, but in 1856 it was resolved by both the
vestries of Leyton and Leytonstone that it should be
CHARITIES AND BBQUE818. 89
applied as endowment of the National Schools in
the same proportion as in the other charities.
When other churches were built a further modi-
fication and re-apportionment were made, and the
present apportionment is, Leyton Parish Church, | ;
St, John's, Leytonstone, \\ Holy Trinity, J; All
Saints, J.
Other gifts and bequests seem mainly to relate
to the old parish and need not here be particularized,
being apparently unimportant small items, either
merged in the foregoing or paid over and finally
disposed of.
Respecting the Dover Street bequest in 1553,
the Manor of Low Hall, Walthamstow, was granted
to Thomas Argall ; his heiress married John Green,
of Dover Street (jeweller to William HI), and it was
purchased in 1741 by Mr. Bosanquet, carrying the
rent-charge.
The rent-charge on Coopersale, near Epping, was
bequeathed in 1584 by Henry Archer. — {See page 27)-
CHAPTER VII.
Leytonstone Daughter Churches
and other Places of Worship.
Leytonstone daughter Churches — Nonconformist places of worship —
Mission Halls, etc. — also some of the various societies — Board
Schools, etc.
SHORT statement will now be appropriate
as to the Districts with their Churches
which have been wholly or in part ap-
portioned out of the district originally
assigned to St. John's, in 1845.
l3oli? ttriniti?, fcarrow (Brcen.— Through the
initiative of Rev. W. ]• Bettison, Vicar of Leyton-
stone, and Rev. G. S. Fitzgerald, Rector of Wanstead,
in 1874, an iron temporary church was erected in the
ftarrow Green district, and Rev. H. F. Battiscombe
appointed as mission clergyman. Subscriptions for
building a permanent church were set on foot, a com-
mittee, of which Rev. W. J. Bettison was chairman,
and Messrs. E. Absolom, Masterman, and D. T.
Morgan, trustees were formed, and a fine church was
built (consecrated by Dr. Claughton, Bishop of St.
Alban's, on gth July, 1878, dedicated to the Holy
Trinity), and portions of Leyton, Leytonstone and
r
UJ
r
o
<
a
a:
z
o
t/3
Z
o
>
I
8T. ANDREW* 8. g,
Wanstead, were assigned to form a district appertain-
ing to it. A vicarage and large parish room with
two class rooms were also built. The cost of the
church (about ^7,500) and that of the vicarage
{£ifioQ) was mainly defrayed through the untiring
exertions of Mr, E. Absolom, and a benefaction of
^3,000 contributed through him; and the parish room
and class rooms costing about ;f2,5oo, were the gift
of Mr. D. T. Morgan, who very greatly interested him-
self in the work. The site was given by the Rev.
TuUy Cornthwaite. Its constitution as a separate
parish was made by order in council in 1879, and an
endowment of ^"300 per annum was secured to the
living, there are 800 sittings all free and unappro-
piated. The handsome oak screen was erected in
memory of Mr. D. T. Morgan, and the communion
plate was given in memory of Mr. E, Absolom. The
present incumbent is Rev, C. H. Rogers.
Two iron mission churches have since been
erected in connection with Holy Trinity, St. Alban's,
in Leslie Road, having about 500 sittings, and St.
Luke's, Temple Mills, with 300 sittings.
St Hnl)rew'0.— A still further increase of church
accommodation becoming more and more urgently
necessary to meet the marvellously rapid growth of
population, various proposals for the enlargement of
St. John's, were brought forward from time to time,
from 1873 downwards, but as none of them were at
all satisfactory. Sir A. Blomfield, the eminent church
architect who had been consulted, strongly advocated
the temporary relinquishment of the idea of enlarg-
ing St. John's and the immediate building of an
entirely new church in another part of the district.
He therefore submitted plans for a large new church,
and while further steps were being taken, services
gz HISTOR Y OF LE YTONSTONE,
commencing in 1880, were conducted by the clergy
of St. John's in an iron building placed in the pro-
posed new district. A site on the Walwood estate
and jf 1,500 were given by the Cotton family, jfi,5oo
by the Bishop of St. Alban^s Fund, which also for
some years found in part the stipend of the clergy-
man in charge, Rev. W. Manning, to whom the
charge was early offered by the Vicar of St. John's, and
who when the church was built became its vicar. The
gradual accumulation of further funds, warranted
at last the commencement of the permanent church,
and the memorial stone of St. Andrew's (the new
church) was laid by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught,
on 1 8th June, 1886, by which time the congregation
and their friends had collected an additional j£'4,ooo.
Funds, however, only sufficed for the time to build the
first portion, consisting of the sanctuary, chancel and
three bays of the nave, the end then being tem-
porarily enclosed by a light wall, allowing for future
completion. This portion was consecrated by
Bishop Claughton in 1887, ^^^ opened for service.
The congregation having rapidly grown, further
strenuous efforts were made to meet the additional
amount of the contract (;f2,5oo) and finally the
remaining portion was completed and consecrated
in 1891. There is no endowment and no vicarage.
The average congregation numbers 1,000, and all the
seats are unappropiated. It was constituted a separ-
ate parish by order in council, 29 December, 1887.
St flDaroarCtfi*— While the building of St.
Andrew's was in progress, still further steps to meet
the needs of the immensely increased population on
the eastern sid^ of the district were taken. The
clergy of St. John's commenced to hold services in a
temporary iron church in Lansdowne Road, and after
8T. AU€^U8TINXr8. 93
Rev. B. Waud, Rev. Edward Sant was appointed to
the charge of it, and long carried on the service
there. Eventually a site for a permanent church was
found in Woodhouse Road, in the adjoining parish
but in the same district, the foundation stone of St.
Margaret's was laid by the Marchioness of Salisbury
on 19th March, i892,and the church was consecrated
by the Bishop of St. Alban's on 28th January, 1893.
It has accomodation for 813, which will shortly be
increased to 856, all free ; there is an endowment of
jf26i. The present vicar is Rev. M. A. Bere.
St* HUdU0tinC'6« — Still further church accomo-
dation, especially in the poorer part of the parish
being urgently needed, open-air services having for a
considerable time been held in that district by the
clergy of St. John's, steps were taken in 1886 to
obtain funds for the erection of a permanent building,
the small mission church of St. Augustine's was built
in Mayville Road, and in August, 1889, was dedicated
and service conducted therein by curates-in-charge
in connection with St. John's. The successive clergy
were Rev. F. W. Thomas, Rev. B. Hobart Hamp-
den and Rev. P. M. Bayne (now Rector of Little
Ilford). It greatly prospered, and the Rev. W.
Walker, who followed and has for years had charge
of the mission, finally succeeded by indefatigable
exertions in obtaining sufficient funds to build a
much larger permanent church adjoining, accomo-
dating 480 worshippers, which was dedicated by the
Bishop of Barking, on 23 January, 1902, the original
mission church, built in 1889, then becoming utilised
as a parish hall. All the seats are free and unappro-
priated.
St Columba'S, with 800 seats, all free, opened
March, 1888.
94 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
St. (TatberinC'e, with 550 seats, half of which
are free, and several other churches have been built
in contiguous districts within the last few years, but
not being in the District Parish originally allotted to
St. John's, it is not the present purpose further to
refer to them, and the various other Leytonstone
places of worship of our nonconformist fellow
parishioners, being fully noted in other recent books,
it is only thought necessary simply to record them
here.
TKIlcelC^an, High Road, built to seat 1040, at a
cost of about ;^g,ooo, was commenced by services in
the drawing room at " Shrublands," about 1874, then
in an iron building near its present site, and was
finally enlarged and re-opened, July, 1902.
ConoreoatiOnal, High Road, built in 1878, at
a cost of about ^f 10,000, enlarged in 1888, seating ac-
commodation about 1,000. Rev. G. H. Sandwell,
minister.
Baptist, Fairlop Road, built in 1877, Rev. F.
C. Hughes, minister.
Presbyterian, Hainault Road, built in 1893,
at a cost of ;^5,ooo. Service was held in a tempo-
rary building, on the Fillebrook Estate, for some
years before the permanent building was erected.
Rev. W. Kidd, Pastor.
Societij Of f rien^0, Bush wood.
primitive fll^etb0^iSt, Colworth Road, built
in 1902. Pastor, Rev. Clark Hallam.
fIDigSiOn 1>all, Aylmer Road, built in 1885, for
the London City Mission. Resident Missionary, Mr.
James Mercer.
Central flDiaSiOn 1>all, Ferndale Road, con-
ducted by Messrs. Borton, Bros., built in 1901.
J
BBNO VOLENT SOCIETl . ^g
OUClCOmC HDIeeton 1>all, Catthall Road, un-
denominational. Mr. H. E. Lester, President.
SalVatton Hrmi? liallt Southwell Grove Road,
opened in 1902.
flDi66ion ftall, Montague Road, built in 1888.
also several others of less importance have recently
been built.
The National Schools, conducted in what
is now the Assembly Rooms, were superseded by
(Cbc Xci^tonstonc »oart) Scbools —
Accomodation.
Opened. Boys. Girls. Infants. Total.
Kirkdale Road 17 April, 1876 .. 421 359 307 1,087
Harrow Green 14 May, 1877 ... 360 360 430 1,150
Mayville Road 11 Nov., 1889 ... 420 420 522 1,362
Goodall Road 12 Feb., 1900 ... 480 480 608 1,568
Connaught Road I Oct., 1900 . Mixed 340
(temporary)
Davis' Lane 28 Oct., 190 1 ... 490 480 524 i,494
Norlington Road 500 '480 532 1,512
(Now Building)
Local Banks.-** London and Provincial Branch
Bank " is in the handsome building at the corner of
Kirkdale Road, and the '* London, City and Mid-
land " branch, nearly opposite Church Lane.
The Local Newspapers are **The Express and
Independent," published on Friday, and *'The
Eastern Mercury," published on Tuesday, office in
the High Street, at the corner of Church Lane.
There are many very useful societies doing ex-
cellent work in the district in various ways. The
Leytonstone Benevolent Society, whose offices are
in the Kirkdale Road Board Schools (secretaries —
Mr. J. T. EUacott and Rev. W. Walker) is prominent
among them, and eminently successful. It was in-
stituted about eleven years ago.
g6 BISTORT or LMTTOmTONJB.
The LEYTONSToi^E Orchestral SooIety. —
Founded 1887. Hon. Cohductor, Mr. Cuthbert
Nunn, A.R.A.M., F.R.C.O. ; Treasurer, Mr. Robert
Leng. The rehearsals are held weekly during the
season in the Elliott Rooms, and periodical sub-
scription concerts are given, generally at Ley ton
Town Hall.
The Leytonstone Choral Society. — Founded
1882, for the study of unaccompanied part-singing.
Conductor, Mr. J. W. UUyett. It obtained the first
prize at the Stratford Musical Festivals of 1 884- 1893-
1896 and 1899. The rehearsals are held in the
Elliott Rooms, every Monday evening, at 8 o'fcldck
during the season, commencing in October. Concerts
are periodically given, honorary members being en-
titled to three tickets for each concert. Subscription
for either vocal or honorary members, 5/-.
A few more Old Names.
Mrs. Emerson, who is still a resident in Leyton-
stone, and whose son-in-law, Mr. Parker, is now
churchwarden, came as teacher in the village national
school, in October, 1842, and 18 months, afterwards
married Mr. Emerson, who had then been master
there for seven years, and in 1863 the vicar appointed
him his clerk. Both Mr. and Mrs. Emerson had
much to do with parochial work connected with St.
John's throughout their long term of residence, dur-
ing part of which time they lived at Caxton House,
near the schools. On their retirement from the
school work they were succeeded by Mr. Putman,
who carried on the work until the establishment of
the Board schools in Kirkdale Road superseded the
old schools.
OLD NAMES. 97
Mfss Uffindell, now very feeble, has kept the
little old fashioned fancy and stationery shop oppo-
site St. John's Church, during more than half her
long life, now approaching 80 years, and has always
done much to help most usefully in matters of
local interest. Her funny little shop, almost the
last of the early ones remaining, was long the only
one of its kind in the village, and it is not long since
Judge Cotton called upon her, and laughed over the
time when he, as a boy, used to patronize her penny
dip basket.
Mr. Fuller, probably the oldest inhabitant, and
who remembers the building of St. John's, has
resided in the parish all his life, and still carries on
the business of builder and ironmonger in the High
Street, he was, with A. Markby's grandfather, the
first to take sittings in the church after the im-
portant subscribers had selected theirs.
Alfred Markby, the present verger of St. John's,
is the descendant of a family who, with varying for-
tunes, have been inhabitants of Leytonstone for over
200 years ; his father was verger and beadle for many
years, and at his death his son was installed in his
place in May, 1889. He has never slept out of the
parish. His great grandfather was High Constable
of the Hundred of Beacontree about a century ago,
as shown by the notice as to Highwaymen, &c.,
already quoted {see page 48).
Mr. William Brown, a former sidesman at St.
John's, had an exciting experience during one of the
floods which, before the improved drainage, frequently
occurred in the Fillebrook Valley, Leytonstone. On
a Sunday in June, 1878, a terrific storm suddenly
caused a flooding, which in many houses rose to about
five feet ; carpets, furniture, Sunday dinners, &c..
98 HISTORY OF LEYTONSTONE.
had to be carried up into bedrooms ; 50 feet of a
substantial wall, part of the roadway, fences, &c.,
were all washed away in view of hundreds of spec-
tators. Mr. Brown, seeing three women in a cottage
in danger, standing on chairs placed on a bed, all
afloat, took ofiF his coat, waistcoat and boots, waded
in up to his shoulders, pulled them over the top of
the window, and carried them, one by one, into
safety, though he only stopped one from clutching
his hair, by a threat of throwing her off, and had
firmly to decline carrying the luggage of another ;
he was then so exhausted that he had to be carried
home.
The information contained in the foregoing
might be greatly amplified, but the aim in compiling
it has, throughout, been to present it in such a con-
cise, yet fairly full form as would be generally
interesting without becoming tedious; it is hoped
that this little work, will, in a measure, accomplish
that aim, and suffice for most purposes.
THE END
99
Note as to Illustrations.
THE portraits, St. Andrew's Church, and old
*' Red Lion," are from photographs by Mr.
Webber, as are also the reproduction of the old en-
graving of St. John's, lent by Mr. Markby ; '* Green
Man " from an old picture lent by Mr. George Wil-
son, and old Royal Lodge from a photograph lent by
Miss Clayton. Holy Trinity Church is from a photo-
graph in the possession of Mrs. Rogers, and taken
by her nephew ; St. Augustine's from a photograph
lent by Rev. W. Walker ; St. Margaret's, and the
exterior and interior of St. John's, are from photo-
graphs kindly taken specially for the book by Mr.
Tester. The woodcuts are from blocks kindly lent
by Mr. Moon, as is also the ancient parchment deed.
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